November 4, 2024 at 06:21AM
As the holiday season approaches, retailers face increased cyber threats, especially AI-driven attacks. Imperva’s cybersecurity guide highlights issues like business logic abuse, DDoS attacks, bad bots, and API violations. To protect themselves, retailers should enhance their defenses with robust strategies for bot management, DDoS solutions, and API security measures.
### Meeting Takeaways:
1. **Holiday Cybersecurity Risks**: As the holiday season approaches, retail businesses must prepare for a significant increase in online traffic, which simultaneously attracts cybercriminals.
2. **AI-Driven Threats**: According to Imperva’s analysis from April to September 2024, retailers face an average of 569,884 AI-driven attacks daily, with a strong emphasis on the need for awareness of these evolving threats.
3. **Types of AI-Driven Attacks**:
– **Business Logic Abuse**: Accounts for 30.7% of total attacks; involves exploiting application functionality for unauthorized outcomes (e.g., manipulating promotional codes).
– **DDoS Attacks**: Comprising 30.6% of threats, these attacks have increased by 61% year-over-year and can seriously disrupt online operations.
– **Bad Bots**: Representing 20.8% of attacks, these sophisticated bots can disrupt business functions and affect sales, particularly during high-demand periods.
– **API Violations**: Accounting for 16.1% of attacks; vulnerabilities in APIs can lead to serious data breaches and financial fraud.
4. **Cybersecurity Recommendations**:
– **Prepare Infrastructure**: Ensure the system can handle increased web traffic and performance needs during peak shopping times.
– **Bot Management Strategy**: Develop measures to identify and mitigate malicious bot traffic to protect customer experiences.
– **Defend Against Business Logic Abuse**: Implement stringent validation for user inputs and conduct regular audits.
– **Invest in DDoS Protection**: Use machine learning-based solutions to promptly identify and mitigate DDoS attacks.
– **Secure APIs**: Establish baselines for API usage to detect anomalies and restrict abusive access through rate limits.
5. **Conclusion**: Vigilance and advanced security technologies are essential for retailers to safeguard operations and provide a secure shopping experience during the holiday season.