The holidays are upon us and so are the security concerns associated with all of those credit and debit card transactions. All signs point to a significant surge in malware infection and data breach activity over the next two months. This is concerning for both the retailer and the consumer.
In the attached article, one particular phrase continues to stand out in my mind – “Organizations should operate under the assumption they are in a state of continuous breach,” the report said. This is so true and so telling on many fronts. So many compromises could have been avoided or mitigated if the retailers would have approached IT security on a daily basis as if the walls were falling and the enemy was at the gate.
As consumers, each of us should be equally prepared. We should not live in fear and avoid retailers this holiday season, but we should be diligent in our buying practices. We should understand the risks and rewards of the cards we choose to use in transactions and we should consider the retailers with which we shop.
It’s about to be a very busy season indeed…