There is no better place and time to be an e-commerce player than in Southeast Asia (SEA) today. The industry continues to grow in a post-pandemic world, as more people go online to fulfil their retail needs, whether it is getting onto the latest fashion trends, entertainment or even grocery shopping.
This has allowed e-commerce players to expand their operations on a large scale and capitalise on what is known as “mega sales days” to boost revenue. One example is Black Friday, which has long been heralded as the busiest shopping day of the year, though this has been confined mainly within the US.
In recent times, we have seen Asian e-commerce platforms also develop similar big-ticket events, such as 11.11, otherwise known as Singles’ Day. To understand the scale of these events, it is worth noting that in 2020, a total of US$115 billion was spent across two of Asia’s largest e-commerce sites during 11.11.
In comparison, sales figures for Black Friday in 2020 came in at US$9 billion, according to Adobe Analytics.
A recent Facebook-Bain report indicated that the gross merchandise value (GMV) of e-commerce in SEA is expected to reach US$132 billion by the end of 2021 and US$254 billion by the end of 2026– almost doubling in just half a decade.
Developing economies with large, digitally savvy populations like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam will be the main drivers of this explosive growth.
On a micro level, the average SEA consumer spend will hit US$381 by the end of 2021 and US$671 by the end of 2026.
Also Read: Why Malaysia is quickly becoming a cybersecurity hub for the rest of the world
The rise of distributed denial of service (DDoS)
As the volume of transactions over the internet increases, more businesses could potentially become victims of cybercrime. The rise of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in recent times threaten to impede the growth of the e-commerce industry.
In Q3 of 2021 alone, we have seen DDoS attacks increase by 44 per cent worldwide, compared to the previous quarter. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the vulnerable and unprepared with sophisticated attacks timed at opportune moments.
As a distraction when stealing data, attackers may employ DDoS attacks using bots to direct an overwhelming amount of fake traffic toward the target network or server.
Once an attack takes hold, this could mean a slowdown of service, or even the shut down of the platform. This carries several implications for businesses, most significantly, the threat of direct financial losses.
Further than just the direct financial impact, such attacks could also manifest other long term implications, such as losing consumer confidence and a bad brand reputation.
According to Cloudflare’s 2021 Q2 DDoS Report, consumer services was the most targeted industry with DDoS activity increasing by 684 per cent in Q2 2021. The government and public sector came in at a close second, with DDoS activity rising by 491 per cent.
However, DDoS attacks do not discriminate when it comes to company size. No one is out of its crosshairs, from the smallest mom-and-pop stores to the most significant e-commerce player.
Even if you are a home-based business selling baked goods online, you can bet that you are a viable target.
Also Read: Opportunities & threats in Korea’s blossoming e-commerce market
Remedying the situation
Fortunately, authorities are sitting up and taking notice of the vulnerabilities that e-commerce platforms face. For instance, Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)’s Start Digital Pack for SMEs includes cybersecurity solutions to keep them safe.
Industry players have stepped up their game too. Consumer marketplace Carousell, for example, has tapped Cloudflare to protect its users and the platform itself against DDoS attacks.
A robust cybersecurity protection strategy is only as strong as its weakest link. The onus lies on businesses and CISOs to take charge of their security posture and build more vital vigilance and resilience in the face of the expanding threat surface area today.
One key thing to consider is to leverage a cloud-based network to put DDoS protection across the enterprise on a single control plane at the network edge to stop attacks as close to their source as possible without slowing network and application performance.
This is fast becoming the one actual viable defence against today’s sophisticated DDoS attacks.
Cyberattack prevalence has increased worldwide during this pandemic. With the holiday season fast approaching, it is sure that it will only continue to climb as more people transact online and engage with e-commerce platforms.
Cyberattacks are even transforming their own– DDoS attacks are now bundled with ransomware, forming what is known as ransom-driven DDoS (RDDoS).
Without a doubt, cybercriminals today are stepping up their game. Unless they wish for their customers to become a statistic, e-commerce platforms have to act now.
Also Read: The third world war may already be happening online. Here’s why you need better cybersecurity
With the holiday shopping season nearly upon us, e-commerce platforms need to take a closer look at beefing up their cybersecurity posture and leverage solutions such as bot management, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) technologies and content delivery networks (CDN).
Only then, will they be able to tide through the storm and emerge as the winners in the new digital era?
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