CYBERSECURITY IN CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND RETAIL

The Challenge: As Smart Retail Innovation Increases, So Does the Consumer Cybersecurity Risk

Smart retail is revolutionising the way we shop, enhancing the buyers’ purchasing experience through technologies, which makes shopping a better, faster, safer, and more convenient experience.

Smart consumer technology infrastructure includes many different types of technology applications such as RFID, smart sensors, data trackers, and so on. Most often, these commonly link with consumers’ smart devices such as smartphones to connect to the internet. The retailer may also use the same technologies to connect with the customers for advertising or marketing, or to further enhance the shopping experience.

However, with increased connectivity comes heightened cybersecurity vulnerability. Smart connected technology innovators or adopters must employ the principle of security-by-design. This manufacturing principle prioritises security at the concept stage, or when designing and creating products, to ensure good security and confidence when the products are deployed. 

IoT cyberattacks have been doubling year on year, with 1.5 billion breaches in 2021 alone (860 million more compared to 2020). Although cyberthreats are a primary concern for IoT stakeholders, it is worrying that only one out of three adopters employ stringent measures and practices to counter such risks. The consequences of data breaches are considerable and can have devasting effects on a business’s brand, reputation, and even continuity. 

It is important that IoT innovators can call upon experts in these fields to help them understand the cybersecurity risks and threats and also how to mitigate them. That is where TÜV SÜD comes in.

We Understand Your Needs

A great customer experience is critical to any business growth. Therefore, it is essential that IoT products and infrastructure employed in the consumer space demonstrate they are robust from a cybersecurity perspective.

1. Meeting and fulfilling requirements

Product development must follow security-by-design principles to ensure safety and curb breaches within systems. This security architecture must cover all kinds of risks, including ones that can affect the whole supply chain. A forward-thinking approach is paramount in predicting how a system could be attacked.

2. Protecting personal user data 

Data privacy is a responsibility for all IoT stakeholders, and most countries in the world have data privacy laws and requirements. Manufacturers often need help in understanding the global legislations and how to comply.

3. Understanding how cybersecurity adds to your business’s competitive advantage

Communicating this to all stakeholders in a business ensures that measures and compliance are in place to keep the consumer products and retail business growing. Using reliable IT infrastructure and systems, and complying with relevant cybersecurity regulations and certification, promotes a good company image and protects from any penalties or losses.

Why choose TÜV SÜD for consumer products & retail?

TÜV SÜD provides an extensive portfolio of services that helps enable secure digital implementation to minimise your cybersecurity risks, allowing you to focus on consumer IoT product development.

Our expertise is demonstrated with our involvement in international standardisation development and industry accreditations.

Although we are a global company, we have local test locations with experts on hand to provide a service solution for your specific needs. We strive to fully understand our customers’ challenges and deliver the most appropriate and cost-effective solution.

Cybersecurity Challenges for Your consumer products & retail

We’ve made it our mission to truly understand your pain points so we can come up with the best solutions for your industry. Based on our research, these are the cybersecurity issues consumer products and retail face today:

Adding and verifying connectivity and security to consumer products

Making the end users’ connectivity and security concerns a priority during the concept stage should be a primary consideration for Consumer IoT and smart devices product developers and manufacturers.

Ensuring profitability for products and services management

Dealing with unplanned costs, such as upgrading, updating, and repairing products and related after-sales services, adds issues to tracking and ensuring organisations’ profitability.

Comply with standards, regulations and requirements

Compliance with regulations and requirements is an essential requirement in building customer trust and brand recognition. Demonstrating regulatory compliance is a way to prevent after-sales problems, and ensure that customers see products of quality.

Reducing insurance premiums through cyber protection

New cyber risks will potentially harm processes across the value chain. Developing cybersecurity expertise is needed to mitigate continuously developed cyber hazards and reduce insurance premiums that arise from attacks. 

Developing cybersecurity knowledge

Building an in-house specialised cybersecurity team, identifying stakeholders, and training key personnel involve recurring expenses and productivity dips (from management assessments and training downtime), making it difficult to keep abreast with developments.

Mitigating value chain risks and strengthening position as an enabler

Establishing dependability for products and services require manufacturers to meet the above challenges persistently, along with identifying and eradicating cybersecurity issues before they occur. This fulfilment is difficult to sustain, affecting a business’s position as an enabler that your clients can trust.

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