Strengthening retail cybersecurity with Google Cloud: Key webinar insights 

In the digital landscape, robust cybersecurity is crucial for retail businesses. Our recent webinar: Retail Cybersecurity 2024, highlighted crucial strategies for enhancing retail cybersecurity, focusing on Google Cloud, industry best practices, and continuous improvements.

Speakers

    - Shayne Clausson, CTO at Extenda Retail

    - Ifraj Haq, Director of Sales – Client Success at Extenda Retail

    - Patrik Bylund, Head of Security Sales at Google Cloud

    - Olav Fyldeng, CIO at Plantagen

Here are some key takeaways from the session:

Patrik Bylund: Google Cloud and its role in cybersecurity

A healthy digital immune system

The cloud offers more than security; it’s a vital tool for building a resilient digital immune system. By using cloud-based software, retailers can integrate comprehensive security measures throughout the software development process, creating a strong defense against cyber threats. 

“We see the cloud as a perfect way to create a healthy digital immune system. We can create the tools for organisations to build along those practices and best practices of building a software from end-to-end.” - Patrik Bylund, Head of Security Sales at Google Cloud

Basic security measures are no longer enough. Companies must adopt rigorous practices, learn from industry standards, and continually refine their security strategies. This involves gathering insights and adapting to new threats effectively.

Google’s role in security

Google Cloud focuses on three essential factors when building a secure cloud platform:

1. Security by design
“Security is a non-negotiable,” says Patrik. Google is mindful that security and a healthy digital immune system should be the foundation of the cloud platform so that they can come back easily from attacks.

2. Security by default
“If we make everything as secure as we can for our customers by default, that can actually be way to help them be more secure. Instead of giving you a choice,” Patrik shares. Enabling users of Google Cloud to be more secure by building a secure platform by default minimizes the risks of a security breach. He goes on to share, “We’re trying to be very clear on how we think you should define your digital immune system and run safely on our product.”

3. Security in deployment
“Highlighting and recommending actions when we see that something is about to go wrong,” Patrik highlights Google Cloud’s continuous monitoring detects suspicious activities and offers actionable recommendations, enhancing overall security.

Plantagen’s approach to cybersecurity

Effective retail security involves more than just protective tools; businesses need practical advice on managing and recovering from breaches. Clear response plans and recovery strategies are essential for resilience.
“We get software that’s supposed to protect us and we get little advisory on how to cope with the situations and get back and prepare for them,” says Olav Fyldeng, CIO at Plantagen.

Check out how Extenda Retail’s Hii Retail cloud platform is supporting Plantagen.

How Extenda Retail leverages Google Cloud to build a secure POS solution

At Extenda Retail, we focus on “continuous delivery” - we are constantly improving and building software. Through Google Cloud’s “secure by design” motto, Extenda Retail’s solutions are able to run smoothly with minimal facilitation. Our customers are able to onboard securely and easily. 

“We do really great things in our continuous delivery pipeline that brings us secure software. We’re constantly automating the checks to make sure we’re using the latest and greatest non-vulnerable third party utilities.” - Shayne Clausson, CTO at Extenda Retail. 

As a software provider that built their solutions on the cloud, our team has the ability to constantly fix new vulnerabilities while delivering new software capabilities.

Conclusion

To stay ahead of cybersecurity threats, retail businesses should leverage the cloud and adopt rigorous security practices. By integrating advanced security measures and proactive strategies, companies can enhance their defenses and better protect their operations and customers.