10 Questions to Strengthen Your Cyber Security
Evaluating store readiness and addressing weak points can help fortify against attacks.
Oct 27, 2026 | 3 min read
The upcoming busy holiday season comes with increased shopping and sales, but it can also come with increased cyber security risk. “November and December are among the busiest months for retailers and typically see increased cyber threat activity, particularly phishing and social engineering, as attackers exploit seasonal promotions, increased store traffic and reduced holiday staffing,” said Ashwin Swamy, CEO of Omega ATC.
In retail, cyber attacks can include more than business and customer data, and extend to attacks on refrigeration systems, equipment with outdated firmware and automated tank gauges (ATGs).
“Beyond these widely reported incidents are the many breaches we hear about across the fuel and convenience retail industry that never make national headlines. They affect both corporate networks and individual stores, often beginning with the 3 a.m. phone call that IT teams and business leaders dread,” said Swamy. “The consequences can include hundreds of thousands of dollars in recovery costs, weeks or months spent managing a crisis instead of improving the business, critical initiatives pushed back and jobs lost. For the people involved, the financial and operational disruption is often accompanied by enormous personal stress.”
Omega ATC highlighted 10 questions retailers should ask to asses cyber readiness, prepare their businesses and strengthen against potential cyber attacks:
- What can attackers reach from the internet? Could a compromise spread between our payment systems, operation equipment, guest WiFi, cloud and corporate environments?
- What critical vulnerabilities remain unresolved, and how are we protecting equipment that cannot be patched or updated?
- How do we check for tampering and prevent unauthorized physical access to payment terminals, fuel dispensers and other store equipment?
- Who can remotely access our store networks and systems, how is their identity verified and is their access limited to what they actually need?
- Does every employee, including store staff, know how to recognize, verify and report a suspicious email, support call, payment request or technician visit?
- Are our security protections and alerts working, and who will investigate and respond during nights, weekends and holidays?
- If payments, connectivity, fueling or refrigeration went down, how would we keep serving customers?
- Can we walk through a cyber incident together to make sure everyone knows their role, who to contact and how to coordinate a response?
- Which systems and devices are outdated, unsupported or unable to meet current security standards, and does our FY2027 budget address them?
- Across all store formats, is it clear which internal teams or third-party providers are responsible for securing, updating and monitoring our critical systems and networks?
“The weeks ahead offer an important opportunity to turn these questions into concrete action. Get your leadership, IT, operations and service providers in a room and walk through these ten questions,” said Colin Mayer, VP, client solutions at Omega ATC. “Some gaps will take until 2027 to close, but the most critical ones should have an owner and a target date before Thanksgiving. The convenience retailers who do this work now can spend their busiest sales weeks serving customers instead of putting out fires.”
For additional guidance, review cybersecurity and PCI DSS v4.0.1 recommendations from NACS and Conexxus, along with CISA's 2026 Cybersecurity Awareness Month resources.
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