Leveraging Deep Freeze Cloud for Retail Operations

Retail is not an easy industry. You need products people want to buy, enough of those products (but not too many), a good price point and a good location and/or easy-to-use e-commerce platform. It’s a lot of work.

The last thing you want to worry about on top of all that is the efficacy and security of your workstations and systems. Retail businesses are often looking for solutions that can address their many operational issues with little labor or input on their part. Luckily, Deep Freeze Cloud from Faronics can do just that.

The Many Needs of Retail

What are cybercriminals after? Apart from the small minority who believe in some kind of ideology, hackers and threat actors usually want one thing: money. And what defines retail? The transfer of money for goods. That’s why retail outlets are a major target for cybercrime.

Today, it’s typically only the smallest of boutique shops or vintage goods stores that don’t have an online platform. This makes e-commerce a necessity for most retail businesses, but this creates more vulnerabilities. It can be overwhelming. Just what are the cybersecurity and IT challenges that retail businesses must address?

Point-of-Sale (POS) System Vulnerabilities

The point-of-sale is where customers complete their purchase, such as a credit card reader by the cashier, a self-service checkout or the final page of an online purchase process. POS systems are a favorite target of cybercriminals because they offer a handy way to steal payment card data. Retail businesses that use outdated or poorly secured POS software are especially vulnerable to exploitation.

Data Breaches

Retail businesses often collect vast amounts of customer data, including credit card and banking information. Threat actors often target this data to commit fraud and identity theft, or to sell it on the dark web. Hackers look for “easy” breaches, searching for retail businesses with weak encryption or unpatched vulnerabilities.

Ransomware Attacks

Retailers are prime targets for ransomware because of the high volume of customer data they handle. Ransomware is a type of malware that holds large amounts of data or integral systems hostage, rendering them inaccessible to their rightful owners and users. The cybercriminals then demand a ransom, refusing to relinquish what they’ve taken until they receive payment. To increase the damage they can do, attackers may encrypt critical systems during high-traffic periods, such as holiday shopping seasons, thus increasing the retail business’s desperation to restore order.

Insider Threats

Sometimes the call is coming from inside the store. Employees or contractors can pose a significant risk to a retail store’s systems. It’s crucial to note that a threat doesn’t have to be malicious; internal damage often results from negligence or honest mistakes. For example, mishandling customer data or falling for phishing scams can lead to damaging security breaches.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks

DDoS attacks can cripple e-commerce websites. They prevent legitimate customers from accessing websites or their accounts on those sites. These attacks can cause significant losses in revenue and a damaged brand reputation. Again, the threat is greater during peak shopping times.

Supply Chain Attacks

Retail stores aren’t only vulnerable themselves, they can also suffer from a cyberattack on their business partners. Third-party vendors and suppliers often have access to a retail business’s network. A breach in the supply chain can compromise the retailer’s systems and data, leading to significant disruptions.

Internet of Things (IoT) Device Vulnerabilities

These days, many retail operations rely on IoT devices. Examples include cameras, smart shelves and various sensors. If a business does a poor job of securing their IoT devices, hackers can use them as entry points for cyberattacks, compromising the entire network.

Inadequate Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Compliance

The PCI DSS is a regulation designed to prevent all these kinds of breaches and frauds. Retailers that process credit card transactions must comply with the PCI DSS. Failure to meet these requirements can result in hefty fines and an increased risk of further data breaches.

How Deep Freeze Cloud Can Help

Clearly, the average retail business has a litany of potential vulnerabilities. Training staff, staying vigilant and using up-to-date equipment and systems is prudent and can definitely help. However, if a proficient threat actor is determined enough, there’s simply no way a retail manager can protect their operations while performing all the many functions of their role.

That’s why Faronics innovated Deep Freeze Cloud. This is a solution that not only offers top-of-the-line cybersecurity, it’s also easy to use and can help streamline retail operations. Some key features of Deep Freeze Cloud include:

• Patented Reboot-to-Restore technology: This is the key cybersecurity feature of Deep Freeze. It allows systems to revert to a desired state upon reboot, effectively eliminating unwanted changes and ensuring system integrity. Simply set the state you want all workstations to restore to and then you don’t have to worry. If a hacker installed malware or an employee made an unauthorized alteration by mistake, it’s not a problem! Just reboot the computer and get back to work — no headaches, no stress, no hours of productivity lost, just a system that works as it should.
• Enhanced security: By restoring systems to their pristine state with each reboot — and with additional security features, such as a firewall — Deep Freeze Cloud prevents and removes malicious changes, including zero-day threats, thereby enhancing cybersecurity.
• Increased productivity: Not only can this solution avoid productivity losses caused by malware and unauthorized changes, it also minimizes reliance on IT staff for trivial issues, allowing them to focus on more important tasks.
• Centralized management: Many retail staff are not IT experts, but you don’t have to be to operate this solution. It has a unified console that streamlines the management and control of IT assets across different locations.
• License compliance: Only approved software will remain on the system, and Deep Freeze will remove unauthorized software, helping businesses maintain license compliance.
• Additional features: Deep Freeze also boasts features such as software deployment, patch management, desktop lockdown, power management and integration with cloud storage services, providing a comprehensive suite for IT management for retail operations. 

With Deep Freeze Cloud, retail businesses can benefit from streamlined IT operations and cutting-edge cybersecurity. To learn more about Deep Freeze Cloud, please reach out to our experts today.