As the 2024 holiday shopping season approaches, retailers everywhere are gearing up for a rush of online customers. This period, critical for annual sales, is also prime time for cyber criminals to target retail systems, given the heightened customer engagement and increased volume of financial transactions. With advances in AI, cyber threats targeting retail are not only more sophisticated but more prevalent, meaning retailers need a solid cyber security strategy to ensure both their business and customers stay safe.
AI-Driven Cyber Threats in Retail
Cyber criminals are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to automate and enhance their attacks, especially on e-commerce and retail systems. Imperva Threat Research have found that AI-powered attacks on retail websites are on the rise, with almost 570,000 AI-driven attacks per day targeting this sector. As AI technology advances, cyber criminals can leverage these tools for rapid, high-volume attacks that capitalise on system vulnerabilities, especially during high-traffic periods.
The leading AI-driven threats this holiday season include:
Business Logic Abuse
Accounting for nearly one-third of all AI-driven attacks in retail, business logic abuse occurs when cyber criminals manipulate the intended functionality of a site to gain unauthorised benefits, such as exploiting promotional codes, return policies, or discounts. With AI analysing user behaviours to identify loopholes, these attackers can act quickly to exploit retail systems for financial gain.
- Mitigation Tip: Implement strict user validation processes and use AI-driven monitoring tools to detect anomalies in transaction patterns. Regularly auditing discount codes, returns, and other business logic elements can help to identify potential abuse points.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks
Nearly as frequent as business logic abuses, DDoS attacks are a persistent threat, especially during high-traffic shopping periods. DDoS attacks aim to overload online systems, leading to slowdowns or complete shutdowns. With a 61% increase in application-layer DDoS attacks on retail in the past year, these can seriously disrupt operations and impact customer trust.
- Mitigation Tip: Invest in an advanced DDoS protection solution with AI capabilities to detect and mitigate traffic anomalies in real-time. Having a solid DDoS mitigation plan ensures continuous uptime, helping to avoid missed sales and reputational damage.
Grinch Bots
These bots, a subset of AI-driven “bad bots,” are notorious for buying up popular items and causing stock issues for legitimate customers. During the holidays, “Grinch bots” especially target in-demand products to resell at a huge markup, frustrating legitimate buyers.
- Mitigation Tip: Use bot detection and mitigation software that can distinguish between human users and automated scripts. Implementing CAPTCHA systems, rate-limiting requests, and actively monitoring traffic patterns can also help reduce bot interference.
API Exploitation
With more retailers using APIs to streamline customer experiences and integrate third-party services, API vulnerabilities are increasingly targeted. Hackers use AI to identify weak spots in API configurations, potentially exposing sensitive data and causing compliance issues.
- Mitigation Tip: Enforce strong access controls for APIs, conduct regular security audits, and utilise AI-based monitoring to detect irregular API usage. Additionally, applying rate limits and maintaining a detailed activity log can help retailers catch unusual behaviour before it escalates.
Essential Cyber Security Measures for the Holiday Season
Knowing the threats is only part of the solution. Retailers must be proactive and set up their defences early to secure their operations and ensure a smooth shopping experience for customers this holiday season:
Optimise for High Traffic Volumes
- Ensuring your systems can handle increased customer visits is fundamental. For online stores, this means scaling server capacity and using a content delivery network (CDN) to manage traffic. Implementing a waiting room or queuing system can also help manage traffic spikes and ensure all customers receive a fair experience, even during peak times.
Adopt a Comprehensive Bot Management Strategy
- With bots evolving to mimic human behaviour, a robust bot management strategy is essential. Monitoring entry points, setting up CAPTCHA challenges, limiting proxy traffic, and using behavioural analytics are all effective methods for distinguishing real users from malicious bots. Bot mitigation solutions using AI can analyse behavioural cues to detect automation, which is especially useful during high-bot activity periods.
Protect Against Business Logic Exploits
- To defend against AI-powered business logic abuses, retailers should enforce stringent input validation and regularly audit core processes like promotional codes, discount applications, and return policies. Investing in anomaly detection tools can alert your security team to potential abuses in real time, allowing you to address issues before they escalate.
Invest in DDoS Protection
- With the risk of DDoS attacks growing during the holiday season, advanced DDoS protection should be a priority. Consider solutions that use machine learning to differentiate malicious traffic from legitimate customers, ensuring that your platform remains accessible during peak periods without performance hiccups.
Strengthen API Security
- Given the role of APIs in handling sensitive data, it’s critical to monitor API usage for unusual activity. Implement rate limits to control traffic, conduct routine API security audits, and enforce strict access control policies. Many security platforms offer AI-driven API monitoring tools that help detect and respond to potential threats in real-time.
This holiday season, retail businesses are not only facing traditional cyber threats but also evolving, AI-driven risks. By understanding these threats and proactively bolstering cyber security measures, retailers can better protect both their business operations and customers. Vigilance, coupled with the right technology, will help retailers safeguard their systems, maintain customer trust, and create a secure shopping experience throughout the holiday season.
Looking to bolster your cyber security before Christmas? Book a meeting with OmniCyber Security today.
