How Secure File Transfer Helps the Retail Industry

By posting a security guard at brick-and-mortar shops, retailers take a proactive step to protect people coming in and out of their doors, as well as keep an eye on their merchandise. By also implementing a robust secure file transfer solution, retailers can also easily protect business-critical and sensitive files containing payment card information as they travel in and out of the network.

And, with today’s resources often stretched thin, a file transfer solution, such as Globalscape EFT, can help improve efficiency and reduce the risks of human error around transferring files with easy-to-use, built-in automation features. Let’s look at how secure file transfer can help the retail industry and check out a few Globalscape user experiences.

Secure File Transfer Provides Barrier to Retail Data Breaches

Data breaches unfortunately are a fact of life for retailers and other organizations. According to Ponemon Institute’s Cost of Data Breach Report 2021, the average cost of a data breach increased by nearly 10 percent year-over-year – making it the largest single-year cost increase in the last seven years – rising to $4.24 million from $3.86 million.

And just like those preventative measures taken to stop shoplifting and protect people, securing valued assets like your customers’ data requires robust, trusted security measures.

Customers trust their favorite retailers to handle their highly sensitive payment card data with great care. Hackers, however, trust that not all retailers will take the strong security measures needed to protect this data, compromising customers, retailers, and the retailer’s public reputation with repercussions that could last for years.

A secure file transfer solution can act as a burly security guard for those files containing sensitive information, stopping hackers in their tracks to wrap customer data securely in place through strong encryption protocols, automation features to help eliminate human error, and built-in regulatory compliance controls.

Related Reading: 5 Biggest Cybersecurity Threats of 2022

PCI DSS Compliance Made Easier with Secure File Transfer

With the majority of retail transactions made via payment card, complying with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a must to help reduce data breaches connected to credit card processing or information.

A secure file transfer solution, such as Globalscape EFT can make compliance easier, more secure, reliable, and efficient. And with less manual tasks needed, retailers can better maximize their resources when it comes to adhering to compliance mandates for securing business-critical files as they are exchanged between their organization and their trading partners.

Files sent via secure file transfer are protected both at rest and in transit, and the solution’s security protocols meet the PCI DSS requirements as well as other industry standards such as Sarbanes-Oxley 404 (SOX), the Non-Bank Financial Services Rule, and others.

Security Features for Protecting Retail Files

With Globalscape standing guard over sensitive files, retailers not only can simplify their file transfer processes, they also benefit from:

• Support for secure protocols like FTPS, SFTP, and HTTP(S) 
• PCI DSS compliance for  file transfers and other primary mandates: SOX, Federal and State business tax codes, Non-Bank Financial Services Rule, and Federal Trade Commission regulations 
• Strong encryption using FIPS 140-2 compliant AES and Triple DES algorithms 
• Flexibility to use popular encryption methods like Open PGP and Zip with AES 
• Platform flexibility for Windows, IBM i, AIX, UNIX and Linux 

Related Reading: Retail’s Top Compliance Pain Points and How to Address Them 

National Retailer Improves Efficiency of Bidding Process with Secure File Transfer

A national retailer frequently needed to share files for new retail and warehousing facilities with local developers and receive multiple bids for the projects. With this constant data flow, they knew they needed a better, more efficient way to collaborate internally and externally, and needed a solution that could give their employees more power to manage the bidding process from start to finish.

When they put Globalscape in place they quickly found that they were able to manage the bidding process with strong security, a user-friendly interface, and the capabilities required as a retail organization. Users can share folders and files with their external partners and internally assured that the data is secure, whether uploading or downloading those files from a web client or via mobile devices. The complete bidding process can be managed from anywhere, improving the efficiency of this often file-heavy business process.

The ease of use does not sacrifice security or regulatory compliance as it provides for flexible authentication as well as data encryption. And with customizable workflow automation, users can establish the flow of data exchange in a way that best suits their unique situation.

Secure file sharing, a convenient web browser log in and automated bidding workflows makes the bidding process more streamlined for this retailer.

Related Reading: The One Thing You Should Do to Ensure Operational Efficiency

Online Retailer Also Gains Efficiency with Secure File Transfer

It’s not just brick and mortar locales that need secure file transfer protection. Online retailers, and their growing numbers, do as well.

When this enterprise-level online retailer found its dated, homegrown system for transferring files created too many opportunities for a data breach, as well as declining productivity they knew they needed to source a modern solution that boosted their data security to protect their online customers and their personal financial information. More specifically, they needed:

• A solution that was integration-ready to work with their established, business-critical application
• A cost-effective solution
• A single platform to help them monitor, manage, and track their file transfer activities

With online retailers’ need to be responsive and nimble, their selected file transfer solution needs to be as well. Deploying Globalscape EFT met the criteria for streamlined processes that didn’t disrupt their day-to-day business. They were able to quickly simplify their multi-step data transfer workflows with the Advanced Workflow Engine module and gained peace of mind with their high-availability, active-active clustering, which helps ensure they can continue serving their customers even with an unplanned outage. Active-active clustering helps retailers both scale up and maintain their stability.

Related Reading: Benefits of Zero Downtime for High Availability Environments

Whether you open your doors to customers each day, or you invite customers into your retail business online, secure file transfer is a key cybersecurity and compliance solution that should be on your operation’s IT shelf. Be sure to check out our other customer stories to learn more about the many ways Globalscape EFT can help your business do business better.