By Isabelle Dumont, Palo Alto Networks
The alarming frequency of cyberattacks on retailers means that all retail businesses — large and small, brick-and-mortar, online — need to re-evaluate their security posture across every point of their value chain. It isn’t enough to protect POS systems when another break in the chain — say, with suppliers, or even customers — can be enough to leave businesses open to a breach. Here are three important considerations for securing the retail environment:
1. Use Of Network Segmentation
All applications and servers in the data center that generate traffic for a POS need to be segmented from one another and more closely scrutinized once done so. All that’s needed for a successfully cyberattack is for the attacker to penetrate an enterprise network through a single weak point, moving laterally into zones that communicate with POS terminals and applications that handle credit card sensitive data. Network segmentation ensures that even in the event of a breach, other segmented-off parts of the network are still protected.
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A true enterprise security platform can effectively manage, control and inspect all traffic coming in and out of POS data center zones, and proactively apply security policies to manage user access, inspect all traffic, identify and block known and unknown malware and prevent access by unnecessary applications.
This segmentation step is critical to prevent cyberattacks, which penetrate the enterprise network through a weak point, and then move laterally into zones that communicate with POS terminals and handle sensitive information such as customer data or credit card information.
2. Preparing For More ‘Things’
Macrotrends such as the Internet of Things will open more ways to attack retailers; recent estimates from Gartner put the number of “connected things” north of 25 billion within the next six years.
Cars, kitchens, mobile devices, inventory management tools — all of these are connected things that will weigh heavily on whether retail environments are truly secure because their connectivity creates more attack vectors. Network segmentation and deep visibility into the applications traversing retail networks and the various zones become that much more critical when the number of “ways in” grows exponentially.
3. A Platform Approach To Hybrid Environments
Retailers often maintain a hybrid approach to support a broad range of small to large stores in a cost effective manner. That hybrid approach becomes cumbersome, however, when they’re forced to rely on a collection of point security products that can’t easily scale across that range. A true enterprise security platform can support the type of mixed environment so often seen in retail by:
- Ensuring all security solutions deployed are based on the same underlying technology
- Enabling central management
- Allowing for the easy exchange of traffic logs
- Enabling consistent security policies across all security devices deployed in the retail environment
- Seamlessly sharing threat intelligence
Isabelle Dumont is the Director, Industry/vertical initiatives at Palo Alto Networks. Shemanages vertical industry initiatives at Palo Alto Networks for financial services, healthcare, and retail and is responsible for solutions and initiatives that address the unique security challenges of these markets. Dumonthas extensive experience in enterprise infrastructure, analytics, mobile computing and innovative, disruptive technologies in general. Prior to joining Palo Alto Networks in 2012, she held strategic marketing positions at Oracle, CollabNet, SEVEN Networks and IRI Software. Isabelle holds a Master of Artificial Intelligence.
