Small retailers 'often unaware of data breach consequences'

2009-08-11

Small merchants are often unaware of the serious consequences of a data breach, it has been claimed.

Such retailers are also "overwhelmed with the intricacies of becoming compliant in the first place", according to National Retail Federation (NFR) chief information officer David Hogan.

A survey of small merchants by ControlScan, the NFR, and the PCI knowledge base has revealed that nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of small merchants that have not suffered a compromise believe the risk their company faces from a data breach is either low or not possible.

Over two-thirds of respondents who have suffered a data breach (67 per cent) believe the risk from a compromise is either high or medium.

Mr Hogan added that "many small merchants will likely continue to be frustrated and bewildered" if industry service providers and the PCI Security Standards Council fail to make compliance simpler to comprehend and "less complex to implement".

Tony Neate, managing director of Get Safe Online, recently claimed that increasing numbers of people are being tricked online.

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