Uncovering Critical Cyber Threats to Retail and Hospitality

The retail and hospitality industries are facing a surge in cyber threats, with ransomware, phishing campaigns, and impersonation scams among the most pressing risks. In 2024 alone, ransomware accounted for 30% of all reported incidents in these sectors, while phishing attacks targeting customer data increased by 22% year-over-year.

These threats not only disrupt operations but also erode customer trust—posing significant challenges for businesses that rely on seamless service and digital payment systems. According to ReliaQuest’s Threat Landscape Report: Hospitality and Recreation, attackers are increasingly exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities, weak access controls, and supply chain gaps to target retail and hospitality organizations.

This blog delves into the report’s findings and provides actionable strategies to mitigate these threats, leveraging collaboration through RH-ISAC and intelligence-driven solutions.

Current Threats in Retail and Hospitality

Cybercriminals often target retail and hospitality businesses due to their reliance on customer data, financial transactions, and third-party vendors. Understanding the most pressing threats is the first step to building a resilient defense. ReliaQuest’s report highlights several critical threats impacting the retail and hospitality sectors, supported by key data points:

1. Ransomware Attacks
   1. Tactics: Threat actors deploy ransomware by exploiting outdated systems and phishing emails.
   2. Impact: The report reveals that ransomware incidents led to an average operational downtime of 72 hours, costing businesses up to $1.4 million per incident in recovery expenses and lost revenue.
2. Phishing and Impersonation Scams
   1. Tactics: Cybercriminals use fake booking sites, fraudulent customer service emails, and social media scams to target businesses and customers.
   2. Impact: Phishing attacks accounted for 18% of all breaches, with impersonation scams targeting loyalty programs and customer databases.
3. Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
   1. Tactics: Attackers exploit third-party vendors to gain access to core systems, often through compromised credentials or software vulnerabilities.
   2. Impact: Third-party supply chain breaches accounted for 41% of reported incidents within the sector.
4. Cryptocurrency Fraud
   1. Tactics: Threat actors leverage cryptocurrency’s anonymity to conduct fraudulent transactions and launder money.
   2. Impact: Businesses reported $450,000 in losses per incident related to fraudulent cryptocurrency payments and theft.

These findings underscore the need for proactive defenses tailored to the unique challenges of retail and hospitality.

Threat Intelligence: Turning Noise into Action

To address the four challenges outlined above, retail and hospitality organizations need to adopt a proactive and collaborative cybersecurity posture. Here are the top recommendations from ReliaQuest’s Threat Research Team:

1. Adopt a Defense-in-Depth Strategy
   • Layered security controls can mitigate advanced threats like ransomware and phishing attacks, which accounted for 48% of incidents in the past year.
2. Operationalize Threat Intelligence
   • Intelligence-driven solutions reduce response times and improve threat detection rates, addressing the 72-hour average downtime caused by ransomware.
3. Strengthen Supply Chain Security
   • Third-party supply chain breaches accounted for 41% of incidents, often due to weak credentials or outdated software.
   • Conduct regular security assessments of vendors and monitor supply chain risks through shared intelligence within RH-ISAC.
4. Invest in Automation and Visibility
   • Automation reduces analyst workload and accelerates responses, helping businesses contain threats 20x faster, as demonstrated by Signature Aviation.
5. Foster Collaboration Through RH-ISAC
   • Sharing real-time intelligence enables businesses to stay ahead of emerging threats like phishing campaigns, which increased by 22% year-over-year.
   • Actively participate in RH-ISAC’s intelligence-sharing community to strengthen defenses across the industry.

The Role of Collaboration Through RH-ISAC

Collaboration is one of the most powerful tools in combating cyber threats. Communities like RH-ISAC enable organizations to share real-time intelligence, learn from peers, and gain actionable insights into emerging risks.

For example, if one member detects a phishing campaign impersonating a popular retail brand, sharing this intelligence allows others to proactively block similar attempts and protect their customers. This collective approach strengthens not only individual businesses but the industry as a whole.

By combining RH-ISAC’s shared resources with tools like GreyMatter, organizations can operationalize intelligence, automate workflows, and establish a proactive defense strategy that reduces risk and improves response times.

Case Study: Accelerating Threat Containment with Intelligence and Automation

A recent example from ReliaQuest highlights the transformative impact of automation and intelligence. Signature Aviation, a global leader in aviation services, achieved:

• 20x faster threat containment, reducing the average response time to under five minutes.
• Complete visibility across its security ecosystem, enabling proactive threat detection and mitigation.
• Streamlined workflows, empowering its security team to focus on high-priority tasks instead of repetitive investigations.

This case underscores the importance of combining intelligence, automation, and collaboration to mitigate risks and protect operations.

Building a Resilient Future for Retail and Hospitality Cybersecurity

The retail and hospitality sectors must navigate a rapidly evolving threat landscape, where the stakes are higher than ever. By leveraging actionable threat intelligence, automating security operations, and fostering collaboration through RH-ISAC, businesses can build a resilient foundation to protect their customers and operations.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, the ability to share knowledge, adapt defenses, and act decisively will be key to staying ahead of adversaries. Together, we can create a safer, more secure future for the retail and hospitality industries.