Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2019.  Read them in this 11th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Contributed by Victor Danevich, CTO of Infoblox

As cyber threats increase, retailers take notice

With the increasing number of internet connected devices and popularity of "smart" gadgets, consumers are unknowingly welcoming more and more security threats into their daily lives.

Growth in AI

According to a Tata Communications survey, 46 percent of organizations have implemented some form of artificial intelligence. In 2019, cybersecurity experts will notice increased cyber attacks powered by AI and attacks against voice-controlled devices. These threats have already impacted various industries such as education, retail and healthcare, but in 2019 their growth will yield further damage, forcing consumers to take notice and creating demand for increased security precautions.  

IoT for the shopping experience

Devices like Amazon Alexa and the Google Home are trusted to connect homes, workspaces and stores, but these devices come with often-ignored risks. Retailers are competing to create the best customer experience, from targeted ads on social to daily online steals, and that's why many are turning to new technologies - like VR/AR and IoT devices - to catch consumers' attention.

Omnichannel technologies, allow customers to enjoy a frictionless shopping experience whether online, on a mobile phone or in store, and fourth screen technology, which delivers personalized video content. For example, shopping on social networks is increasing, and 41 percent of brands studied in a Gartner report have adopted shoppable content options from Instagram.

Online shoppers not worried about security

But retailers are missing one thing - they're failing to properly secure their networks, leaving their employees and customers susceptible to cyberattacks and loss of personal data - including credit card information and passwords. With the adoption of voice-controlled devices increasing rapidly, cybercriminals' interest in attacking voice assistant devices and the IoT devices connected to them will inevitably continue to grow. However, despite the increased risk when it comes to holiday deals consumers are more concerned about delivery time (55 percent) than security measures like ID fraud (19 percent) or data security (12 percent).

According to a recent Infoblox report, 44 percent of IT decision makers in retail say implementing new technology makes them more concerned. This concern is warranted with the increase of insecure devices, however, the same percent of retailers say they will implement IoT devices like Alexa and Google Home in stores within the next 12 months anyway. IoT devices have become a popular addition to the buying experience, but these devices can be an easy way for hacker to break into a network. These will create even more risk for consumer shopping online, so in 2019, focusing on security should be a top concern.

When cybersecurity threats impact and infiltrate the daily lives of consumers in their homes and shopping experiences, companies will be held accountable. Fortunately for retailers, this can be prevented with next level networking and a DNS security solution that can help identify malicious activity before sensitive company information is compromised. High profile cyber breaches have brought security to top of mind for many retailers and consumers in 2018, and in 2019, as theses attacks multiply, companies will need a plan to meet that concern with a strong solution.

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About the Author

Victor Danevich is the CTO of Infoblox where he helps customers achieve Next Level Networking via hyper-scalability, implementing automation, and improving network availability with solutions that are built with security from the core.