How to Improve Restaurant Cybersecurity and Prevent Data Breaches

Hackers are targeting healthcare organizations, educational institutions, hotels, and organizations in the financial sector, but restaurants are also in hackers’ cross-hairs. If restaurant cybersecurity solutions are not deployed and security vulnerabilities are not addressed, it will only be a matter of time before hackers take advantage.

Cyberattacks on restaurants can be extremely profitable for hackers. Busy restaurant chains process hundreds of credit card transactions a day. If a hacker can gain access to POS systems and install malware, customer’s credit card details can be silently stolen.

Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Applebee’s, PDQ, Chili’s, B&BHG, Zaxby’s, Zippy’s, Chipotle, and Darden restaurants have all discovered hackers have bypassed restaurant cybersecurity protections and have gained access to the credit card numbers of large numbers of customers.

One of the biggest threats from a data breach is damage to a restaurant’s reputation. The cyberattack and data breach at Chipotle saw the brand devalued by around $400 million.

A restaurant data breach can result in considerable loss of customers and a major fall in revenue. According to a study by Gemalto, 70% of the 10,000 consumers surveyed said that they would stop doing business with a brand if the company suffered a data breach. Most restaurants would not be able to recover from such a loss.

Restaurant Cybersecurity Threats

Listed below are some of the common restaurant cybersecurity threats – Ways that hackers gain access to sensitive information such as customers’ credit card numbers.

Malware

The primary goal of most restaurant cyberattacks is to gain access to customers’ credit card information. One of the most common ways that is achieved is through malware. Malicious software is installed on POS devices to silently record credit card details when customers pay. The card numbers are then sent to the attacker’s server over the Internet.

Phishing Attacks

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack in which employees are fooled into disclosing their login credentials and other sensitive information. Phishing emails are sent to employees which direct them to a website where credentials are harvested. Phishing emails are also used to install malware through downloaders hidden in file attachments.

Web-Based Threats

Whenever an employee or a customer accesses the Internet they will be exposed to a wide range of web-based threats. Websites can harbor malware which is silently downloaded onto devices.

Unsecured Wi-Fi

Restaurants often have Wi-Fi access points that are used by employees and guests. If these access points are not secured, it gives hackers an opportunity to conduct attacks and gain access to the restaurant network, install malware, intercept web traffic, and steal sensitive information.

Restaurant Cybersecurity Tips

Listed below are some of the steps you should take to protect your customers and make it harder for hackers to gain access to your systems and data.

Conduct a risk analysis to identify all vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited to gain access to networks and customer data

Develop a risk management plan to address all vulnerabilities identified during the risk assessment

Ensure all software and operating systems are kept up to date and are promptly patched

Become PCI compliant – All tools used to accept payments must comply with PCI standards

Implement security controls on your website to ensure customers can use it securely. Sensitive data such as loyalty program information must be protected.

Ensure you implement multi-factor authentication on all accounts to protect systems in case credentials are compromised

Ensure all default passwords are changed and strong, unique passwords are set

Ensure all sensitive data are encrypted at rest and in transit

Secure Wi-Fi networks with a web filter to block malware downloads and web-based threats

Implement a spam filter to block phishing attempts and malware

Provide cybersecurity training to staff to ensure they can recognize the common restaurant cybersecurity threats

Restaurant Cybersecurity Solutions from TitanHQ

TitanHQ has developed two cybersecurity solutions that can be implemented by restaurants to block the main attack vectors used by hackers. SpamTitan is a powerful email security solution that prevents spam and malicious emails from reaching end users’ inboxes.

WebTitan is a cloud-based web filtering solution that prevents staff and customers from downloading malware and visiting phishing websites. In addition to blocking web-based attacks, WebTitan allows restaurants to prevent customers from accessing illegal and unsuitable web content to create a family-friendly Wi-Fi zone.

Both solutions can be set up in a matter of minutes on existing hardware and require no software downloads.

To find out more about TitanHQ’s restaurant cybersecurity solutions, call the TitanHQ sales team today.