Data Breaches Have Occurred In Almost 1/3 Hospitality & Retail Firms

While 96% of the retail, restaurant and hospitality stakeholders are confident in their companies’ internal risk assessment processes, their satisfaction with system security is misaligned with reality, as one-third of companies (31%) have experienced a data breach in their company’s history. 89% of organizations penetrated have been struck more than once in a year, and 69% of retail enterprises have been hacked up to three times in a year.

“Check Please! How Restaurant, Retail and Hospitality Businesses are Managing Cybersecurity Risks,” a Joint Cornell and FreedomPay research, examines the condition of cybersecurity in small, medium, and large-size firms in the hospitality, retail, and food and beverage sectors.

Business executives are dealing with a slew of issues and problems as new cyber dangers emerge both within and internationally. Payment integrity (59%) and malware (58%) were recognised as the most serious dangers by business owners, with risk management (57%) cited as the most difficult task executives believe their systems confront. Organizations are particularly concerned about internal risks, with hospitality companies noting human error (86%) and a lack of staff education (81%) as having a detrimental influence on cybersecurity systems.

Many retail and hospitality firms are employing enhanced cybersecurity measures to help their consumers feel safer and more confident while making a transaction. According to the report, 91% of organisations feel their consumers care profoundly about cybersecurity; nevertheless, 65% of executives say that extra security measures irritate customers, and they want systems to be simple to use (67%).

Despite these obstacles, corporations have said that their IT spending is being increased or have been increased, citing the COVID-19 epidemic and technology as driving drivers.