NOW CYBERSECURITY IS THE #1 THREAT TO RETAILERS

In the last few years, we've seen a variety of major retailers fall victim to data breaches. There's a good chance that you've had to have one of your banking cards replaced as a result of this new, and increasingly prevalent, issue.Since the inception of online business, there has been a concern for cybersecurity. However, as data breaches and identity theft continues to occupy news headlines, those concerns have reached an all-time high.In May of this year, BDO USA released The 2016 BDO Retail RiskFactor Report – their annual report that analyzes the top risks facing retailers, as reported by the 100 largest retailers in America. Interestingly, data security has quickly climbed the list over the last decade from the #18 spot and now ties “general economic conditions” as the top concern.To put things in perspective, “privacy concerns related to a data breach” was the #8 biggest concern in 2014 and #4 in 2015.

“Retailers are operating in an era defined by tepid consumer spending and rapid technological change that is revolutionizing every aspect of the industry—from supply chain operations to payment channels and marketing. Retailers must balance keeping pace with evolving commerce channels and maintaining customer privacy and data security in an increasingly complex digital environment.”– Doug Hart, partner in BDO's Consumer Business practice

Although retail businesses appear to be the most vulnerable at the moment, companies in all industries are facing cybersecurity threats. When you consider how much data your company stores and uses on a regular basis, combined with the high-value of that information, you probably have concerns about data security.

CYBER RISKS SPARK NEW COMPLIANCE MEASURES

As the concerns around cybersecurity grow, we are starting to see new legislation regarding data privacy. According to the 2016 BDO Retail Compass Survey of CFOs, seven out of ten CFOs say they expect data security regulations to increase in 2016.Recently President Obama unveiled the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity and launched debates in Congress regarding information sharing between the government and private sector. Last year, U.S. retailers received new regulations requiring them to be compliant for new credit card authentication and authorizations standards sets by Europay, Mastercard, and Visa (EMV). However, despite the October 1, 2015, deadline, only 40 percent of retailers are compliant with these new standards.

“Mandating EMV chip-compliant payment systems is an important first step in shoring up the industry's cyber defenses, but it's just the tip of the iceberg. Online and mobile transactions remain vulnerable to credit card fraud and identity theft, and POS systems can still be hacked and provide an access point to retailers' networks. New forms of malware can also compromise retailer's' IT infrastructure and disrupt business operations. Every retailer will experience a data breach at some juncture; the real question is what mechanisms have been put in place to mitigate the impact.”– Shahryar Shaghaghi, National Leader of the Technology Advisory Services practice group and Head of International BDO Cybersecurity

It's unclear at this point as to which industries will see new cybersecurity regulations. Based on the current trends, we can expect to see new compliance requirements across all sectors.

HOW BOLD VAN KEEPS YOUR VALUABLE DOCUMENTS SAFE

While new regulations look to protect your business on the front lines, BOLD VAN provides EDI solutions that keep potential hackers from sneaking in the back door and stealing data that's being transferred throughout your supply chain.In fact, businesses have used EDI VANs for decades specifically for the security and reliability they provide when transferring and storing data. All of the cost-saving and supply chain-optimizing benefits are a bonus!Here are the ways BOLD VAN keeps your documents safe:

• Encryption – BOLD VAN scrambles data into code that only the receiving party's VAN may decipher.
• User authentication – Our VAN uses digital certificates to verify the identity of the sender and receiver to validate authenticity and accuracy of the EDI data transferred between trading partners.
• Digital signatures – Trading partners have non-repudiation, or the inability to deny the validity of a transaction because the validity of each transaction is proven.
• Password protection – Account access for EDI management requires username and password credentials.

Even when your data is not in transit, all EDI documents are stored in highly-secure data centers with 24/7 security monitoring. Thanks to our strict security provisions, our clients send EDI data every month, worry-free.