Introduction
Consumers prefer brands that have adopted technology and make their lives easier. With the advent of digitization, electronic payment, credit card or debit card payments are preferred mode of payments by the consumers. A Toast consumer study reported that 76% of dine-in users, preferred credit, or debit cards as a payment mode. While restaurants have invested in payment solutions to support the consumer preferences, guarding the transactions too is in the hands of the owners. Hackers are known to go after unprotected credit card information in lieu of financial gains. WiFi, POS (point-of-sale) and wireless credit card processors are all possible entry points for cyberattacks.
One of the most known examples of data breaches in restaurants is Landry’s, which owns over 600 restaurants and hotels. The restaurant chain detected a data breach in 2019, which attacked their payment processing system. The credit card and other important data for thousands of customers were leaked. Another example of the incident took place with Catch Hospitality which owns Catch NYC, Catch Steakhouse, and Catch Rooftop restaurants. They detected POS malware in their system in 2019, which tracked the customer’s credit card and personal details.
Need for Encryption in Restaurants
Hackers have been attacking different restaurant chains and especially the POS system or a payment network. Since most of their customers make payments through credit and debit cards, their details are stored on the system and servers. Hacking such information will give unauthorized access to the hackers and they can use their credit card and other details to make fraudulent transactions. Apart from financial details, the hackers are also able to get the personal details of the customers, which can be sold on the dark web or misused for identity fraud. Unauthorized use of financial and personal data of customers can severely affect the customers and the restaurants as well.
Customer details are not the only thing hackers focus on during the data breach. Hackers have also been noticed to hack the recipe details of many popular restaurants. Many restaurants have their own signature recipes, which have been passed through generations and rarely been revealed out in the open. These recipes are also stored on the systems and servers with utmost security by the restaurant owners. Since these recipes maybe contributing to the unmatched success of the restaurant, stealing them could turn out to be very profitable for cybercriminals. Hackers can auction the recipes to the highest bidder or any other competing restaurant, which could severely affect the restaurant business. Hence, it is vital for restaurant owners to invest in a data encryption software not just for protecting customers data but also their business data.
How Encryption can Help
Millions of transactions occur daily across the globe at restaurants. To record the payments and customer details, a large number of entries are made both on the system and network of the restaurant and financial provider. Due to this, data encryption becomes very important. Most of the breaches that have happened in the past, were done after going through the security system that was already installed by the restaurants.
Therefore, having data security software is not enough, in case the hackers are able to get past the security and gain access to the data. This is where data encryption comes in to secure the data. Data encryption technology ensures that the data saved on the system and servers are encrypted into a format that cannot be read. Therefore, even when the data is hacked, it will be useless to anyone. The data can only be accessed by those users who have the key to unlock the data.
Securing Data with Cryptainer Pro
As a restaurant owner you can be wary of using a data encryption software due to the complexities involved. However, Cryptainer Pro, is an easy-to-use data encryption software to secure the data which can be used by anyone who knows how to operate on a computer. With Cryptainer Pro, you can simply drag and drop the files, folders, and data to be encrypted and a vault is created. Those who have the passcode of the vault can only access the data. Restaurant owners can save any file format in the vault, which will be encrypted in few minutes. While encrypting the data, users can work simultaneously on multiple vaults without compromising on the productivity of the system. The software is compatible with Windows and supported by best-in-class encryption technology-Blowfish and AES.
Restaurant owners can safeguard their secret recipe videos, audio, word, database of customers in excel via Cryptainer Pro. The data encryption can secure an infinite amount of data. It is a great way for any restaurant to secure their family’s secret recipes, which have been a big part of their restaurant’s success. Once the recipes are placed in the vault, they cannot be interpreted in any way, even if a data breach takes place.
The data encryption software Cryptainer Pro is updated with the latest encryption updates to secure the data from the latest threats. The process not only helps secure the recipes but also the customer’s data and their credit card details as well. Therefore, it can be used to save both the customers and the restaurant from the loss of financial and personal data of the customers. Data theft can ruin the image of any restaurant chain, and data encryption is one of the best ways to secure it.
Conclusion
The increasing digitization of payments poise a threat to many industries and restaurants are one of them. Identity theft, credit card theft, cyber attack are all potential threats shackling the restaurant owners today. Hence, it is imperative that restaurants invest in data encryption software to protect and maintain their customer’s trust.
Data encryption software Cryptainer Pro is easy-to-use and supports protection of data on the system, removable media and even emails. Thus, making it an apt investment for restaurant owners. Even in case of a physical theft, the data remains safeguarded against the predators.
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