How Do You Secure Your POS and Why You Should
Over the years, as technology as evolved, so too have point of sale (PoS) solutions. Gone are the days of the bog standard cash register, although we’re sure that these still exist in far flung places across the country. For the most part, though, these traditional means of exchanging cash for goods and services have been replaced with touchscreens, smartphones, tablets, and mobile PoS devices.
These newer, technology-driven PoS solutions have completely changed how retailers serve their customers. Moreover, owing to the fact that they are lower in cost and designed to be user-friendly, the modern PoS systems have made it easier for smaller businesses to enter the market and serve customers.
We’ve unpacked the specifics around PoS solutions, including tips on how to find the right PoS solution for your business right here, but today let’s talk about PoS security. Because this truly matters – especially to business owners.
How is Your PoS at Risk?
Most people don’t actually realise that there is an entire PoS system beyond the physical hardware of the card reader or touchscreen. But there is and as a result, modern PoS devices are capable of more than simply processing transactions.
Nowadays, given the right software, you can manage inventory, record orders, gain insights into sales, profits, and expenses in real-time, create accurate financial reporting, and connect to other point-of-sale systems.
That’s just the tip of the benefits that a PoS system is capable of delivering. It’s also why cybercriminals seek out vulnerabilities somewhere in your system to gain access to the personal information and other data collected by the device.
What is PoS Security?
PoS security is the combination of tools and measures you implement to prevent unauthorised access to electronic payment systems by criminals looking to steal your customers’ personal details and other data that’s collected by your PoS system.
A successful PoS security system creates a safe environment in which customers can make purchases without worrying about fraud or their credit card information being nicked.
While this seems simple enough, PoS security can be challenging. This is mostly because there are just so many components to PoS systems, making it difficult to completely protect every attack surface. This is especially true if you’re using an outdated operating system or equipment, or you have insufficient remote access tools.
Here’s Why You Should Care About PoS Security
Owing to the reliance on the Internet to move huge amounts of data between cloud systems, PoS systems are particularly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.
All it takes is hacking one application and a criminal could gain access to millions of credit or debit card details that they can sell to third parties or use fraudulently. They could even exploit your compromised PoS applications to gain access to vast amounts of customer data and wreak havoc in the lives of hundreds, thousands and even hundreds of thousands of people.
Our 6 Best Practices for PoS Security
It can be overwhelming to know exactly how to defend your business against PoS attacks and data breaches and prevent POS malware infections. That’s where we can help, advising and helping you deploy measures that will safeguard your system and give your customers complete peace of mind, knowing that they can safely transact with you.
What we can also do is share our top 6 best practices to improve your POS security:
- Lock Down Your Systems: Make sure employees lock down all devices at the end of every working day to prevent someone from picking up the device to view or steal customer data.
- Use End-to-End Encryption: Encrypting credit card and other sensitive data as soon as the PoS device receives the data and when it gets sent to the PoS software server will ensure it’s never vulnerable.
- Use an Antivirus: This prevents malware from infiltrating your systems by scanning devices to detect anomalous or problematic applications, files, and user activity that needs to be blocked or removed.
- Protect All Devices: Customers transact from multiple devices, making it important that your security tools work across multiple platforms, operating systems, and devices.
- Secure the Cloud: While the cloud is the best way to store and manage data, it does provide another way for attackers to test PoS security, so make sure you secure your cloud-based activities.
- Be PCI-Compliant: Comply with the stipulations of data privacy and protection regulations, which is mandated by financial organisations and administered by the PCI Security Standards Council to reduce credit card fraud.
We Can Help
PoS systems are at the heart of your retail operations, comprising everything in your business, from receipt printers to the software used to store and manage customer data.
It’s paramount that you protect your customers’ personal details and your business’ sensitive data. The costs of criminal activity aren’t limited to loss of earnings if you’re unable to connect to your PoS system and losses due to fraudulent activity. You could also lose your reputation as a retailer who can be trusted by its customers and go out of business as a result.
Connect with us, and let’s talk about what kind of PoS security solution your retail business needs.
