The Role of security-first, AI-powered networking in retail

[RyanMcCarthy]

The retail industry is consistently one of the highest targeted by those looking to siphon off credit card data. Today’s retailers face challenges that continue to grow in complexity—along with the threat of becoming a more frequent target of cyberattacks with the amount of important PII (personal identifiable information) that retailers obtain across their sales channels. According to Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigation Report, 99% of cyber-attacks in retail are financially motivated and methods of intrusion are becoming more advanced.

With advanced threats looming, retailers need to focus on aligning SecOps teams and moving on from traditional end-point security models to protect themselves and their customers. The network plays a critical role in this endeavor as it continues to become more of a cornerstone of a retailer’s overall business strategy. Where there were once competing objectives between networking and security teams, the two now find themselves searching for a comprehensive solution that will foster innovation while maintaining advanced security.

Retail’s new guard: The network becomes a zero-trust security solution

Zero trust security is a strategy to address the gaps widened by traditional security models. In a zero-trust model, no apps, devices, and users are trusted by default; instead, they are required to prove their trustworthiness to gain access to the resources need to fulfill their role. Implementing such an architecture can be challenging depending on the diversity of environments, collaboration across teams, and the technology involved—but the cost of not ensuring the network is protected  is far greater, to the tune of  $2.96 million per breach on average.

But zero trust can’t be bought. It’s a paradigm shift in how to approach IT security and operations. So, where do teams turn when looking for a solution that alleviates the challenges of implementing the most effective methods of protection?

Security-first, AI-powered networking from HPE Aruba Networking can help retailers ease adoption of zero trust security for an enhanced security posture, while still providing a seamless network experience no matter where their customers and users are. The foundational differences in AI networking versus traditional approaches are clear:

As outlined above, traditional approaches fall short of providing a solution that is adaptable, secure, and reliable. HPE Aruba Networking's security-first, AI-powered networking provides retailers with built in zero trust protection and the means to innovate securely and keep pace with the competition. Each advantage of AI networking can have significant impact across retail operations:

 

Bringing these benefits together under one solution, HPE Aruba Networking’s security-first, AI powered networking delivers distinctive experiences for the retailer that is looking to streamline operations and drive business outcomes forward. From edge to cloud security-first, AI powered networking is helping retailers of all sizes realize their digital ambitions.

Accelerate your digital journey today

Learn more about HPE Aruba Networking for retail and AI Networking:

• What is AI networking?
• Easing zero trust security adoption
• Edge-to-cloud security in retail