On 11 November 2017, Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales hit a new record high with a 39% increase from last year’s sales. The company’s 2017 profits broke world records of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, marking this Asian sales day as one of the highest revenue sales in history.
With increasing internet-user penetration, consumer behavior is quickly transitioning in Asia today. Shoppers make most of their retail purchases on-the-go, through mobile applications or via websites. In fact, 90% of this year’s Alibaba sales were made through mobile phones.
Now more than ever, retail businesses in the Asia-Pacific region need to tap onto an omni-channel approach to be aligned with these changing customer demands. Based on the 2016 e-commerce study, Google and Temasek foresee Southeast Asia to be the next region to boom in this market. The predictions indicated that e-commerce will make up 6% of the region’s total retail sales by 2025.
Beware of business bullies
While these statistics show a positive growth for the region, businesses going digital must be aware of the lurking threat factors. The physical shoplifters that pained businesses – especially during big sales such as Great Singapore Sale and Black Friday – have now evolved to become cyber criminals. Unlike thieves, businesses are not physically able to discern these criminals, especially since they attack over the network.
One of the most devastating kinds of cyberattack for e-commerce businesses today is Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) which aims to bring down websites, therefore, disrupting online services and businesses. DDoS attacks occur when an unusual and unexpected spike in traffic and connection requests overwhelms a website, slows down the network, or in the worst-case scenario, shuts down the entire system.
A reliable website that guarantees a good user experience is what defines a successful e-commerce business as it is the main platform for acquiring customers and generating revenues. The damage caused by a network failure or a complete site outage will directly and immediately impact business assets. For instance, Alibaba made US$7 billion within the first 30 minutes of the Singles’ Day sale3. Imagine if they had been hit by a DDoS attack; Alibaba would have lost US$233 million per second. Not only would this be a massive loss, the attack would have also caused long term damage to Alibaba’s brand image and customer loyalty. According to KPMG’s annual consumer survey, one fifth of consumers will turn away from a cyber-attacked company4.
Don’t fall victim
With the festive period approaching, online retailers can expect an approximately 20% increase in their web traffic5. To make the most out of this sale period, businesses need to ensure that they are ready to protect themselves against DDoS attacks. This includes re-evaluating their network security to assure they are taking the best protective measures.
Monitor and Detect
Businesses cannot fight what they do not know. Monitoring network traffic and flow data with DDoS detection alerts security pros to anomalies before they become full-blown catastrophes.
One way to get a better understanding of what is happening on the network is baselining to know what the traffic looks like during peacetime. This allows organizations to take the appropriate wartime countermeasures when an attack happens. Effective DDoS detection needs to be able to discern the human traffic from the bots.
Additionally, organizations need a detection solution that can scale given that attacks are increasingly getting larger in size. The best class solution should not only be able to process the data, but also be equipped with the ability to quickly make intelligent decisions with that data.
Mitigate and Protect
DDoS protection requires having the right mitigation in place. Businesses should look for a modern DDoS solution that empowers them to automate defenses – from reports to packet captures to mitigation. This can help security pros reduce stress and thwart attacks quickly.
Communicate
As with all security procedures, effective DDoS defense involves a human element, as well. It is imperative for businesses to have a communication plan in place in the event of an attack. This includes critical information such as who to notify during, and after an attack. For example, who should be the first to know if the site goes down due to a DDoS attack? Is that the same person notified if a DDoS attack shuts down the online retail site? Who else is notified if an attack happens? Having communications ironed out ahead of time can reduce time to remediation and lower stress levels.
Make the most of this year’s sale season
For businesses, these next few months are the time to peak your revenue and customer traffic. It may be a chance to raise brand awareness or even expand the business. Whichever the case, a DDoS attack can be a fatal roadblock to an organization’s goals. Reacting in an efficient manner is key. Online retailers need to ensure they have an emergency response plan that makes good use of anti-DDoS technologies for unforeseeable attacks. For a happy holiday for all, be on the lookout for any dangers and take the right cautionary actions to protect against any potential threats.