Cybersecurity risks in the age of rising e-commerce

2023-08-02 -

A report by Steve Morgan, a top cybersecurity journalist, estimated that by 2025, the yearly cost of damage from cyberattacks, at the present rate of growth, will be nearly $10.5 trillion, a 300% increase from 2015. In the last few years, we have seen accelerated growth in digitisation, e-commerce and the `platform economy` which has allowed for convenience in online shopping, service delivery and transportation. With this growth, we have also seen a rapid expansion in cybercrimes which pose a threat to crucial client information that is collected and stored digitally. A report by Steve Morgan, a top cybersecurity journalist, estimated that by 2025, the yearly cost of damage from cyberattacks, at the present rate of growth, will be nearly $10.5 trillion, a 300% increase from 2015

A daily average of 1 300 complaints about online crimes were sent to the FBI in 2019, a 40% increase from the previous year. The available data on cybersecurity suggests that, to protect IT assets and data from increasingly complex and sophisticated cyberattacks, businesses need to develop a straightforward yet integrated cybersecurity plan. `Businesses are under immense scrutiny to keep client data safe and secure â€` and with a platform business, more client information is collected and stored than what would exist in a brick-and-mortar store,` says Pascalle Albrecht â€` National Head of Sales Strategy at Nedbank. `Not only do sellers now need to consider how to drive visitor conversion rates, and ensure that their order fulfilment process is sound â€` they now too have to be conscious of digital predators.` Albrecht says that to keep up with cyberthreats, businesses need to keep up-to-date with all enhancements in data security systems and protocols and ensure that they train their staff on how to spot and report suspicious behaviour