Selling stolen personal data is a big business for hackers: Somewhere on the dark web, your e-mail address and a few passwords are probably for sale (hopefully, old ones). Cyber criminals buy troves of this information to try to login to websites where they can grab something valuable like cash, airline points, or merchandise like expensive cheese. Yes, cheese.
Online retailers are hit the most by these attacks, according to aĀ report by cyber security firm Shape Security. Hackers use programs to apply stolen data in a flood of login attempts, called ācredential stuffing.ā These days, more than 90% of e-commerce sitesā global login traffic comes from these attacks.Ā The airline and consumer banking industries are also under siege, with about 60% of login attempts coming from criminals.
These attacks are successful as often as 3% of the time, and the costs quickly add up for businesses, Shape says. This type of fraud costs the e-commerce sector about Ā£3 billion a year, while the consumer banking industry loses out on about Ā£1.2 billion annually. The hotel and airline businesses are also major targetsāthe theft of loyalty points is a thingācosting a combined Ā£450 million every year in the US and UK.
By the time you hear about a hacker intrusion, itāsĀ usually too late; on average, it takes 15 months from the day credential data is stolen to the day an intrusion is revealed. Thatās more than enough time for criminals to deploy the data of unsuspecting people in thousands of credential stuffing attacks.
The process starts when hackers break into databases and steal login information. Some of the best known ādata spillsā took place at Equifax and Yahoo, but they happen fairly regularlyāthere were 51 reported breaches last year, compromising 2.3 billion credentials, according to Shape. Hackers frequently target web forums: TheĀ Lady Gaga āLittle MonsterāĀ fan site had a breach last year that reportedly impacted about 1 million accounts containing birthday, password, and e-mail information.
Criminals steal personal data from places with weak protection and then use login data on sites and apps that are much higher value and better protected.Ā Taking over bank accounts is one way to monetise stolen login informationāin the US, community banks are attacked far more than any other industry group. According to Shapeās data, that sector is attacked more than 200 million times each day.
Another way to turn stolen data into cash is to buy merchandise, from gift cards to physical goods like electronics, that can easily be resold. It turns out that expensive cheese, likeĀ Ā£200-per-poundĀ Wyke Farms cheddar, is sometimes used in criminal schemes. Hackers use stolen credentials to break into online accounts to buy high-priced cheese and then resell it to restaurants for cash, Shape says.
RecentĀ researchĀ carried out by Retail Week found that 72% of retail executives have witnessed āan exponential rise in the increase in hacking attempts in the past two to three years, with 64% of those witnessing this increase experiencing a breach in their own firm.ā This is worrying in itself. But when you compare those statistics with the views of consumers quizzed as part of the same research, 72% of who would be unlikely to do business again with a retailer who suffered a data breach involving personal data, itās clear that cyber-security has a material impact on the brand, and ultimately the bottom line.
Cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated, sharing successful techniques and tools with others hackers on the dark web. Whilst cyber security is improving, the threat landscape is constantly evolving.
As many retailers look to implement a single digital customer journey encompassing online, in store and beyond, which is dependent on customer data, now is the time to break rank and design a security strategy from the inside out.Ā
The benefits? There are many, but these are the ones I see as delivering the most strategic value.
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