Infoblox, the leader in secure cloud-managed network services, today announced new research revealing how retailers across the globe invest more in cybersecurity during the holiday period than at any other time of the year due to a seasonal increase in social engineering attacks. The research also found that among the main threats posed to the network within the UK were items such as unpatched security vulnerabilities (28%), online consumers themselves (25%), and unsecure IoT devices (21%).
Infoblox commissioned Censuswide to survey 3,000 consumers and retail IT professionals in the UK, Germany, Benelux and the U.S. on their experiences and attitudes towards online data privacy and security while online shopping during the holidays.
63 per cent of UK and 62 per cent of German retailers claimed to increase cybersecurity measures during the holiday season, with each region citing a rise in social engineering attacks (34 per cent in UK, 30 per cent in Germany), aside from the Netherlands where social engineering attacks dominated for just over a quarter of businesses – though this was still the most common attack vector. Other kinds of attacks seen were:
- Social media scams – 19 per cent in US, 15 per cent in UK, 14 per cent in the Netherlands, 12 per cent in Germany
- DDoS attacks – 20 per cent in the Netherlands, 17 per cent in Germany, 12 per cent in UK, 7 per cent in US
- Ransomware – 12 per cent in US, 11 per cent in Germany, 10 per cent in UK, 9 per cent in the Netherlands
Within the UK, artificial intelligence (43%) leads as the technology most likely to be implemented within the next year, followed by IoT devices (35%), fourth screen technology (24%), Omni channel technology (23%), and augmented reality (17%). The majority of IT decision makers within the UK (55%) say they’re concerned about new technologies, a stark contrast from those within the Netherlands where only 20% claim to be concerned.