BROOMFIELD, Colo., Oct. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The
holiday season brings opportunity for retailers – and for hackers
looking to invade retail networks, disrupt systems and steal
valuable information. To help defend against these threats, Level 3
Communications (NYSE: LVLT) is releasing comprehensive omnichannel
security best practices for retailers heading into the 2016
shopping season.
Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release
here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7911453-level-3-holiday-ebook-retail-security
Read Level 3's Retail Holiday eBook, Checkin' the List Way
More Than Twice: www.level3.com/RetailNetworkSecurity.
Top Takeaways for Retailers:
- Retailers may be more vulnerable this holiday season due to the
fact there are more access points for sophisticated cybercriminals
to exploit across the omnichannel given the pervasiveness of highly
distributed endpoints spanning kiosks, in-store Wi-Fi, mobile
point-of-sale (mPOS) and the prevalence of IoT devices.
- While Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
compliance is an important piece of retailers' strategy, attackers
are also invading networks to obtain valuable financial records,
employee data, healthcare records and other personal identifiable
information (PII), which can be used for phishing and social
engineering. Retailers need to employ security measures beyond PCI
DSS compliance to defend against these threats.
- The average total cost of a data breach is $4 million according
to Ponemon's 2016 Cost of Data Breach Study, with each breach
averaging $172 per record breached
for retailers. To protect against these exposures retailers need to
implement robust threat intelligence and monitoring.
- According to Ponemon, it takes retailers an average of 197 days
to identify advanced security threats in their environment. No
retailer can afford six months of dwell time, which is why enhanced
visibility into the network is critical, as is conducting a
post-holiday review of network performance.
- A recent KPMG study found consumers aren't very forgiving when
it comes to cyber attacks against retailers; more than 50 percent
indicated they would forego shopping at an affected retailer for at
least three months after a breach or stop shopping at a breached
retailer altogether.
- With more than 65,000 Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) ports
in a single firewall, retailers should use actionable threat
intelligence that tracks two-way communications to identify
suspicious and malicious network activity to stay ahead of
attackers and quickly respond to threats.
Key Facts about Level 3:
- Eight of the top 10 U.S. retailers by revenue rely on Level 3
to protect their critical infrastructure.
- Level 3 network security teams track 1.3 billion security
events and 3 million compromised computers every day.
- With 4.5 terabytes of ingest capacity and nine global scrubbing
centers, the team mitigates more than 140 DDoS attacks per day for
organizations around the globe.
Key Quote:
Chris Richter, SVP Global
Security Services, Level 3
"Quickly implementing the latest
in-store technologies and digital engagements at the expense of
security is a strategy for failure. This holiday season – more than
any other – it's critical for retailers to implement a robust,
integrated security strategy across the entire omnichannel."
Additional Resources:
- Level 3 2016 Retail Holiday Security eBook
- Level 3 Adaptive Threat Intelligence
About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications,
Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) is a Fortune 500 company that provides local,
national and global communications services to enterprise,
government and carrier customers. Level 3's comprehensive portfolio
of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure
solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area
Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and
cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 500
markets in over 60 countries across a global services platform
anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected
by extensive undersea facilities.
Contact
Information
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Media:
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Investors:
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Stephanie
Walkenshaw
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Mark
Stoutenberg
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+1 720
888-3084
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+1
720-888-2518
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stephanie.walkenshaw@level3.com
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mark.stoutenberg@level3.com
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SOURCE Level 3 Communications Inc.