More than a year after the arrival of covid-19 to the American continent, the impact it has had on the economy has been considerable, particularly in the retail segment, due to the closure of branches of various chains during a long period of 2020 and part of 2021. Only in Colombia, during December 2020, retail sales decreased 2.8% compared to those registered in the same month of 2019.

However, this scenario required a rapid move aimed at strengthening electronic commerce. According to the Colombian Chamber of Electronic Commerce, e-commerce, during 2020, had a weekly increase of 11% in the most critical moments of the pandemic; and for 2021, an annual growth of 16% is expected. This adoption of e-commerce benefited the vast majority of companies, but at the same time brought with it several challenges: implementing a hybrid environment with its own infrastructure and in the cloud, to scale according to needs, and perhaps the most important , security, both of the infrastructure itself, networks, and for users.

In the first case, it is not only about thinking about your own infrastructure and how to protect it, but also contemplating reducing risks in that which we do not fully control and which is provided by a third party in the cloud. In both scenarios, the most valuable thing is the data it contains, both customers, such as suppliers, inventories, credits, payment methods, purchase history, tastes and preferences, information on loyalty programs, payroll, etc., and how just a tiny gap could cost business continuity.

For Ernst & Young, all this represents a volume of information (Big Data) that can be used not only to violate users but also the company's systems. In this context in which the retail sector tends to be oriented towards e-commerce, another threat arises: software with vulnerable codes, which have been used to introduce fraudulent codes in the payment processes with credit cards on web pages.

Although this affects consumers directly, it does so more in the retail trade itself, since it goes directly to its operation, reputation and continuity in the market.

To reduce these risks, it is necessary to hire or subcontract personnel trained in cybersecurity. According to EY, in its latest Global Information Security Survey, only 36% of organizations take it into account in their new business initiatives, while 20% of managers are very sure that mitigation measures for The risks they have established can protect them from large-scale cyberattacks.

With this information, it becomes clear that no company is immune to an attack, particularly ransomware and encrypted attacks, so it is essential to have solutions that protect against intrusions in real time, such as next-generation firewalls, that have the service. Capture Advanced Threat Protection, which allows you to scan suspicious files before they can enter the network.

With a reliable security infrastructure, the commerce sector will be able to meet the needs of its customers after the pandemic, providing shopping experiences that help them achieve their growth goals for the remainder of 2021.

More than a year after the arrival of covid-19 to the American continent, the impact it has had on the economy has been considerable, particularly in the retail segment, due to the closure of branches of various chains during a long period of 2020 and part of 2021. Only in Colombia, during December 2020, retail sales decreased 2.8% compared to those registered in the same month of 2019.

However, this scenario required a rapid move aimed at strengthening electronic commerce. According to the Colombian Chamber of Electronic Commerce, e-commerce, during 2020, had a weekly increase of 11% in the most critical moments of the pandemic; and for 2021, an annual growth of 16% is expected. This adoption of e-commerce benefited the vast majority of companies, but at the same time brought with it several challenges: implementing a hybrid environment with its own infrastructure and in the cloud, to scale according to needs, and perhaps the most important , security, both of the infrastructure itself, networks, and for users.

In the first case, it is not only about thinking about your own infrastructure and how to protect it, but also contemplating reducing risks in that which we do not fully control and which is provided by a third party in the cloud. In both scenarios, the most valuable thing is the data it contains, both customers, such as suppliers, inventories, credits, payment methods, purchase history, tastes and preferences, information on loyalty programs, payroll, etc., and how just a tiny gap could cost business continuity.

For Ernst & Young, all this represents a volume of information (Big Data) that can be used not only to violate users but also the company's systems. In this context in which the retail sector tends to be oriented towards e-commerce, another threat arises: software with vulnerable codes, which have been used to introduce fraudulent codes in the payment processes with credit cards on web pages.

Although this affects consumers directly, it does so more in the retail trade itself, since it goes directly to its operation, reputation and continuity in the market.

To reduce these risks, it is necessary to hire or subcontract personnel trained in cybersecurity. According to EY, in its latest Global Information Security Survey, only 36% of organizations take it into account in their new business initiatives, while 20% of managers are very sure that mitigation measures for The risks they have established can protect them from large-scale cyberattacks.

With this information, it becomes clear that no company is immune to an attack, particularly ransomware and encrypted attacks, so it is essential to have solutions that protect against intrusions in real time, such as next-generation firewalls, that have the service. Capture Advanced Threat Protection, which allows you to scan suspicious files before they can enter the network.

With a reliable security infrastructure, the commerce sector will be able to meet the needs of its customers after the pandemic, providing shopping experiences that help them achieve their growth goals for the remainder of 2021.