Arcserve Study Finds Retailers Aren't Ready for Holiday Cyberattacks

October is promoted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as “Cybersecurity Awareness Month.” The objective is to encourage everyone in the United States to take four simple steps to stay safe online. Helping individuals protect their private data is a worthy effort. 

But businesses pay a high price for failing to protect their data. That's why, in honor of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Arcserve has released a segment from our independent global research highlighting the urgent need for data resilience and more effective cybersecurity solutions in the retail sector. The damage can be disastrous when retailers fail to safeguard customer and business data.

Efforts to Protect Against Ransomware Aren’t Working 

The survey found that retailers are a prime target, with 54 percent of retail executives disclosing that they were targeted by ransomware in the past 12 months. Even worse, 26 percent of the attacks resulted in compromised data. And 25 percent confirmed that they had paid the ransom.

Retailers Aren’t Confident About Data Disaster Recovery 

Far too many retail executives surveyed—66 percent—said they weren’t very confident in their ability to recover all lost data in the event of a ransomware attack. And nearly half—42 percent— admitted they could not recover all data during their last significant data loss.

Disaster Recovery Plans Are a Disaster

Knowing these statistics hasn’t motivated enough retailers to plan ahead. Fifty-seven percent reported they lack a well-documented or updated disaster recovery plan. And the vast majority—72 percent—said they do not have specific data resiliency goals within their data and backup strategies.

"With Cybersecurity Awareness Month underway and the holiday shopping season that follows, retailers can't afford to be caught off guard,” said Aftab Alam, Chief Product Officer at Arcserve. “Our latest research is more than a cautionary tale; it's a call to action.”

“Retailers must urgently overhaul their disaster recovery plans to match the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape. Data resilience isn't a 'nice-to-have'; it's a non-negotiable business requirement with clear, measurable objectives. And don't wait for a crisis to test your recovery protocols; make it a regular practice, akin to a fire drill. By taking these steps, retailers do more than protect their bottom line— they retain the trust of their customers," added Mr. Alam.

Three Steps to Help Retailers Be Better Prepared

Arcserve recommends that retailers immediately take the following actions to ensure they are ready to fight against ransomware and any other data disaster. 

Review and Update Your Data Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan

Now is the time to assess the robustness of your data recovery strategies and ensure they can stand up to our ever-evolving threat landscape.

Invest In Data Resilience

Minimizing the impacts of a data disaster starts with defining your specific data resilience goals and strategies. Next, you must invest in data backup and disaster recovery solutions to ensure you can meet those goals.

Test Recovery Procedures

If you haven’t tested your disaster recovery plan, you cannot be confident you can recover. And once disaster strikes, it’s too late. Test your recovery capabilities to ensure seamless and orchestrated recovery when it matters most. 

Get On the Road to Resilience

By working with an Arcserve technology partner, you not only get access to our best-in-class solutions to manage, protect, and recover all data workloads. You also get expert guidance in finding and implementing the best data resilience strategies and solutions for your retail business.

Find an Arcserve technology partner here.

To learn more about Arcserve data resilience solutions, request a demo.