Cybersecurity: Solution Against Million-Dollar Losses for Retailers on Black Friday

Black Friday is established as the peak sales period for Brazilian retail, with R$ 4.5 billion in revenue during the last edition, according to Neotrust. However, this massive growth in transactions makes the period a prime target for cybercriminals, exponentially increasing the risk of attacks.

According to a report by Check Point Software, there was a global increase of 21% in cyber attacks, and Brazil recorded nearly 3,000 weekly incidents per organization. “These numbers sound a red alert. The increase in transaction volume raises exposure to sophisticated threats that aim for quick profit and operational chaos. Security is an investment that protects the revenue generated on the year's main sales date,” explains Thiago Tanaka, Cybersecurity Director at TIVIT.

One of the most recurrent is the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, in which criminals flood e-commerce servers with a massive and artificial volume of traffic, taking down the website and compromising sales. Just one minute of inactivity during the peak of the event can generate very high revenue losses. This method has become even more dangerous with the emergence of hybrid attacks, which combine DDoS with extortion attempts, known as ransom DDoS.

Another growing vector is phishing and website spoofing (brand hijacking), in which criminals create fake pages identical to well-known stores or send fraudulent communications, such as emails, SMS, and social media messages, with the aim of stealing customer card data and credentials. In addition to the direct theft of information, these attacks cause strong damage to brand reputation, which ends up bearing the cost of fraud committed in its name. 

Ransomware attacks and attacks on the supply chain also represent a significant threat. In this type of incident, the retailer's critical systems, such as inventory, logistics, and payment, are encrypted, completely paralyzing operations. Often, suppliers are also affected, which compromises delivery capacity and amplifies the impact. The losses can be in the millions, especially given the downtime and the risk of data leakage.

Finally, there is an increase in payment fraud and carding, driven by the high volume of transactions. In this context, attempts to use cloned or stolen cards surge, as well as the practice of fraudulent chargebacks, where the payment is improperly reversed. These actions result in direct financial losses and increase companies' operational costs.

“Investing in digital brand monitoring, consumer awareness campaigns, and the adoption of preventive measures, such as immutable backups and network segmentation, is essential to mitigate risks and ensure operational continuity. Furthermore, the integration between anti-fraud systems and threat intelligence enhances the detection of suspicious transactions in real time, reduces false positives, and strengthens the financial protection of companies,” says Tanaka.

In this context, the company reinforces that Threat Intelligence has proven to be a strategic ally for retail by transforming raw data into actionable knowledge capable of anticipating and neutralizing threats before they cause real impact. One of the main applications is in anticipating DDoS attacks, through the continuous monitoring of forums and channels on the Deep and Dark Web, where criminal groups often organize and announce attack plans. 

Another important front is the practice known as brand protection, which performs constant scans of the internet to identify fraudulent online stores that impersonate legitimate brands, taking immediate measures to take them down.

The technology also contributes to the identification of specific vulnerabilities, providing information on the latest Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) used by cybercriminals. With this data, security teams can apply patches, update systems, and adjust firewall settings to block attempts to exploit newly discovered flaws.

Finally, it acts to enhance fraud monitoring, integrating with anti-fraud systems and providing updated lists of malicious IPs, leaked credentials, and attack patterns in real time. This integration makes the detection of fraudulent transactions more accurate, reducing false positives, preventing losses, and strengthening the protection of retail financial operations.

“Trust is a company's greatest asset in the digital environment. More than avoiding financial losses, ensuring a secure shopping experience is what consolidates reputation and sustains long-term growth. TIVIT works side by side with clients on this journey, offering intelligence, technology, and strategy to strengthen defenses and anticipate threats, especially during critical times like Black Friday,” concludes Tanaka.