November 24, 2020
An increase in cyber attacks on online retailers is expected during the upcoming holiday shopping surge
A recent threat intelligence report published by Imperva Inc., indicates an expected peak in online shopping during the upcoming holiday season, leading to a subsequent increase in cyber-attacks. This surge in retail web traffic is a predictable result of a global shift to online shopping, imposed on shoppers by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Imperva’s report, after recent “stay-at-home” orders were given, web traffic to retail sites increased by as much as 28% above the weekly average, surpassing the record web traffic of the same time last year. This change gives rise to an identified increase in 2020’s cyber-attack trends all with the goal of disrupting online activities. These trends include:
- Bad bots –automated malicious attacks that serve as one of the biggest and most common threats to online retailers since before the Covid-19 pandemic and during it;
- API attacks – 2020 has seen a growth in attacks targetting sensitive payment methods;
- Web attacks – attacks on websites have also increased during the past year;
- DDoS attacks (distributed denial-of-service) – an increase in these attacks has been identified during 2020, specifically in light of “stay-at-home” orders that were issued.
- Account Takeover (ATO) Attacks – mainly targeting online retailers, cyber criminals enjoy a high success rate by using leaked credentials to defraud retailers;
According to Imperva’s research, the upcoming holiday season poses a double risk to retailers who stand to gain significant revenues, due to the expected unprecedented increase in both web traffic and related cyber-attacks. In order to successfully face these threats, Imperva suggests retailers use integrated security platforms that will increase online performance while adhering to top security standards.
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