Retail has become a 24/7 business. In the post-pandemic world, eCommerce and digital channels operate continuously, with customers expecting constant availability and frictionless transactions. Seasonal demand peaks, global supply chains, and already thin margins leave little tolerance for disruption. At the same time, cyberattacks continue to grow in both volume and sophistication.
For today’s retailers, digital resilience is no longer optional. It is fundamental to protecting revenue, brand reputation, and customer trust.
According to Obrela’s Digital Universe Report H1 2025, retail and eCommerce were the most targeted industries worldwide, accounting for 28 percent of all observed cyberattacks. High transaction volumes, valuable customer data, and always-on platforms make the sector a prime target for financially motivated threat actors.
An expanded and exposed attack surface
Modern retail operations rely on complex, interconnected ecosystems. Omnichannel platforms, cloud-based point-of-sale systems, digital wallets, and real-time inventory management have transformed the customer experience—but they have also significantly expanded the attack surface.
Obrela’s research shows that web exploitation, credential abuse, and transaction fraud dominate retail cyber incidents. Web-based attacks alone account for nearly 26 percent of observed activity, while brute-force attacks represent over 18 percent, largely driven by credential stuffing and automated login abuse.
When downtime directly translates into lost revenue, resilience is no longer just about prevention. It is about staying operational when demand is at its highest.
Growing fraud and insider risk
Retail attackers are focused on monetisation. Groups such as Magecart collectives, FIN6, and Scattered Spider target eCommerce platforms to steal payment data, hijack user sessions, and exploit refunds and loyalty programmes.
At the same time, insider exposure remains a critical risk. Seventeen percent of incidents analysed involved suspicious internal activity, often linked to compromised credentials or misuse of privileged access. With large workforces, seasonal employees, and extensive third-party ecosystems, retailers need continuous visibility into user behaviour across their environments.
Why traditional security cannot keep up
Retail environments evolve too quickly for static, rule-based security models. Attackers are increasingly abandoning traditional malware in favour of fileless techniques, credential abuse, and “living off the land” methods that easily bypass legacy controls.
Obrela’s research highlights this shift clearly. In H1 2025, direct malware payloads dropped to zero percent in trending alerts across all industries. Effective detection now depends on understanding behaviour, context, and intent—not just matching known signatures.
How Obrela builds digital resilience for retail
Obrela’s Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services are designed for always-on, high-volume retail and eCommerce environments. By combining continuous monitoring, human-led threat hunting, and rapid response with deep insight into transaction flows and fraud patterns, Obrela helps retailers identify real business risk early and act before disruption occurs.
Rather than overwhelming security teams with alerts, Obrela focuses on what truly matters: abnormal behaviour, suspicious transactions, and early indicators of compromise that threaten availability, revenue, and customer trust.
Make resilience a competitive advantage
Retailers that can demonstrate continuous monitoring and rapid response are better positioned to protect revenue and maintain customer confidence. Those that cannot face not only immediate financial loss but also long-term brand damage.
Obrela helps retail and eCommerce organisations remain online, secure, and resilient—even at peak demand—turning cyber resilience into a genuine competitive advantage.
