Avoiding The Threat Of DDoS Attacks

July 2012 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

By Neal Quinn, chief operating officer, Prolexic

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) is an attack that can wipe out any e-commerce site on the Internet.

There’s no question that e-commerce is big and getting bigger. Figures from comScore Inc. show retail e-commerce sales in the fourth quarter of 2011 reached $49.7 billion, up 14% from the previous year. Retailers are increasingly dependent on online commerce to provide a substantial share — in many cases, the majority — of holiday sales. But while the rise of e-commerce has provided a significant boost to the retail sector, like any major technological advance, it demands a new set of competencies and security measures to prevent mishaps, and you might be surprised at the security technology that has become the most invaluable of all.

In order to maximize ROI, many businesses plan for their IT infrastructure to be operating at or near maximum capacity during the holiday season, without investing in too much additional capacity. Unfortunately, that means the most important time of the year is also the time they are at their most vulnerable.