It’s no surprise that deployment and adoption of new technologies have accelerated during the pandemic. Consumers, now more than ever, are expecting contactless experiences that are enabled by technology.
Whether its self checkout, being able to order food and supplies and pay using smartphones or having their orders delivered to a secure locker or by robot or drone, consumers now expect companies to offer technology solutions that provide the security of contactless experiences while catering to their individual preferences.
While the use of technology has increased, so have the attempts to steal data.
According to Security Magazine: “Since the beginning of the pandemic, the FBI has seen a fourfold increase in cybersecurity complaints, whereas the global losses from cybercrime exceeded $1 trillion in 2020.”
As more companies are deploying new technologies to improve the return-to-work experience, it is more important than ever that companies also have a robust cybersecurity plan.
At Compass Group, we are leading the hospitality industry with the highest security rating and are investing more than $15M annually to ensure the protection of our own and our client’s information.
Our approach is three-pronged: Protect, detect and respond.
Below we offer tips from our cybersecurity team to help safeguard your own organization against attacks.
Protect
Are 100% of the devices connected to your organization encrypted?
Transaction management is key. Employ the highest minimum standards for your team at point of sale. Mobile point-of-sale solutions with point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and end-to-end encryption (E2EE) ensure that customer data is protected from the point of swipe through transmission to the payment processor.
If these programs aren’t utilized, criminals may use compromised accounts, that belong to established vendors or third parties, to launch ransomware.
Protections should also include multi-factor authentication, malware protections on devices, continuous POS upgrades and remediation, HIPAA and PCI compliance.
Detect
Continuously feed data into cyber analytics monitoring tools.
Analytics use objective, data-driven methods to closely analyze information security control. The correct monitoring identifies, mitigates and eradicates potential weaknesses and threats throughout the entire network.
One organization can log up to 2 million phishing scams per day. Risk factors currently include infections, spam propagation, malware servers, open ports, patching cadence and file sharing. Adaptive information security solutions must be agile, cohesive and grow continuously.
Respond
Are your people properly trained?
Teams that are armed with mandatory cyber awareness training, assessments and management of vendor risks can mean the difference between a responsive protection program and an unplanned disaster. Confidence in your partnerships with responsible, highly educated vendors who participate in cyber reviews and have measured risk ratings is ideal.
Confirm
Check third party providers with worldwide cybersecurity ratings leaders that monitor program success.
Historical comparisons by organizations such as BitSight give insights into industry leaders. Measurement of data breaches and ransomware hack scorecards shed light on the commitment of providers to ensure the safest systems. Partners should be HIPAA & PCI compliant.
A strong business reputation depends on a robust cybersecurity management strategy. You need a partner who consistently outperforms their competitors. Interested? Let’s talk about it.
Compass Notes 