3 Important Lessons Learned From Past Retail POS System Breaches

Security breaches can really destroy a business — especially if that business isn’t a huge corporation with hundreds of stores across the country, also in possession of really talented marketers who can build the brand up again after consumers have lost their trust.

In other words, small businesses are probably the most vulnerable when it comes to a security breach involving retail POS software. And unfortunately, the number of cyberattacks has only increased in recent years — and it’s likely to keep increasing.

But to look on the bright side of past events, there are a few important lessons that can be learned from the mistakes that other companies have made which have resulted in a POS software attack:

• First, it’s important to remember that no business is automatically exempt from the risk of a cyberattack simply because their POS system software is dated or because the business is very small. In fact, the older your retail POS system is, the less protected your business is. And in terms of business size, many hackers specifically target smaller businesses because they know that a security breach is less likely to be detected quickly.
  

• It’s best to think of your POS equipment and software as you would think of any other computer system. You probably have plenty of anti-virus firewalls on your personal computer, so your business’s POS system computer shouldn’t be any different. If you’re wondering how you can increase the security of your POS system, the best place to start is with a good anti-virus program.
  

• Last but not least, it’s important to realize that a security breach in a retail POS system doesn’t just put the business itself at risk; when a hacker gets into a POS system, they will steal every bit of information they can. This typically includes a lot of personal information belonging to your customers — information which you probably don’t even see. This is really what makes a POS system breach so dangerous for a business, because long after the breach occurs and the system is fixed, customers will have lost the trust they once had in that business.

A POS system hack isn’t necessarily the fault of the business itself; even with all of the standard precautions, it’s still possible to be the victim of a data breach. But once you understand how and why these breaches are so dangerous, it’s easier to figure out a strategy to protect your POS system as much as possible.