TORONTO, Ontario - March 31, 2005 - Although the majority of Canadian retailers are clearly expressing concern over the rising risk of security threats and online transaction fraud, relatively few have taken proactive measures to combat the threat. According to a recent poll of 500 retail executives conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of a several leading payment processing organizations including Soltrus, a leading Canadian provider of IT security and digital trust services, 75 percent of all retailers surveyed see misappropriation of credit card information as a significant security threat to their businesses and customers. The largest retailers ($100M revenue and above) expressed the most concern (80 percent).
Among other key security risks in online transaction processing, over 60 percent of executives cited backend hacking used to illicitly obtain payment gateway, password and user information, and network, account and transaction intrusion attacks. And more than half of respondents also acknowledge data security policies and enforcement are a source of possible security risk.
Despite these strong concerns, the most prominent forms of security are still basic, even with the growth of online and Web-based services and the availability of sophisticated security solutions. 87 percent of respondents identify usernames and passwords as their leading form of online security. Firewalls and VPN solutions are employed by 64 percent of respondents, and 51 percent reported using PIN numbers and static and/or dynamic passwords.
“The study’s survey results show that online and Internet transaction processing is the largest area of projected growth in the retail industry, however more than half of all but the largest retailers expressed concern about the security of their e-commerce Web site and transaction processing,”
said Anthony Santilli, vice president of marketing for Soltrus.
The survey also found that only 20 percent of responding merchants use disk and file encryption software; just 18 percent use identity management software; and only 14 percent employ managed public key infrastructure (MPKI) and digital certificate authority systems.
“Despite the widespread news coverage of security breaches and theft of customer data, retailers are simply not adequately prepared in protecting their business processes and customer information,”
added Santilli.
“As consumers become more aware of online security concerns, they will choose retailers that have implemented solid security policies and solutions. Securing an e-commerce business is not difficult or expensive; and just one breach can make or break a retailer’s reputation.”
This survey was conducted by Ipsos-Reid in November 2004 with an audience of 500 customer-facing businesses focused on retail and services across Canada.
About Soltrus
Soltrus Inc. is the leading Canadian provider of Digital Trust Services that enable businesses and consumers to communicate and transact over digital networks with confidence. Founded as an independent Canadian company, Soltrus is owned by TELUS, CIBC and VeriSign Inc.; leaders in the telecommunications, financial and digital trust environments. As VeriSign’s Canadian affiliate Soltrus offers leading-edge Internet security products to Canadians. Soltrus solutions are designed to enable trusted communications and safeguard transactions creating a trusted digital environment. The company maintains its corporate headquarters, technology nerve centre and customer service centre in Toronto. Soltrus can be found on the Web at www.soltrus.com.
For more information:
Karin Scott
Strategic/Ampersand Inc. (for Soltrus Inc.)
Tel: 416-961-5595, ext. 408
karin@stratamp.com
[Source: Company Press Release - March 31, 2005]
