Fast Company - Holiday Season Cybersecurity Lessons: The Vulnerability of the Retail Workforce

‍Fast Company

February 4, 2025

The 2024 holiday season marked the most wonderful—and most risky—time of the year for retailers. U.S. consumers spent more than $41 billion online in the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. Knowing that holiday shopping accounts for nearly a third of retail revenue, cyber grinches were poised to exploit the shopping chaos. The greatest vulnerability was the retail workforce: Most retailers lack sufficient internal cybersecurity staff, and seasonal employees rarely receive cyber training, making them easy targets.

These challenges, coupled with rising cyber threats, are forcing retailers to rethink their cyber workforce strategies for 2025 to better protect consumers and keep stores operational during peak revenue periods.

Read more in our CPO Kevin Pierce’s Fast Company article: Holiday season cybersecurity lessons: The vulnerability of the retail workforce