Two thirds of retail executives say it is becoming more difficult for employees to identify real threats as AI increases complexity of threats
LevelBlue, the world’s largest pure-play provider of managed security services, released its 2025 Spotlight Report: Aligning Cyber Resilience and Business Goals in Retail. The report explores how the retail industry is building a proactive stance in protecting itself from increasingly sophisticated attacks. Amid pressure to integrate AI-powered personalized shopping experiences, expand into third-party marketplace platforms, or pursue new revenue streams through re-commerce models, retailers face the challenge of establishing cyber resilience at a time when the threat landscape is intensifying.
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As the threat landscape rapidly evolves, retailers are facing substantial attacks. The report reveals 44% of retailers say they are experiencing a significantly higher volume of attacks and 34% say their organization has suffered a breach in the past 12 months. While many retailers are aware of new threats they may face, many of them remain unprepared, especially when it comes to AI-powered attacks, deepfakes, and synthetic identity attacks. Specifically, only 25% say they are prepared for AI-powered threats, even though 45% expect them to happen, and 33% say they are prepared for deepfake attacks, even though 44% expect them to happen.
Beyond AI and deepfakes, supply chain security remains a major challenge. Nearly half (47%) of executives say they have very low to moderate visibility into their software supply chain, and only 22% say that engaging with suppliers about their security credentials is a top three priority in the next 12 months.
As a result of these increasing threats, retailers are forced to take cybersecurity more seriously and make cyber resilience a priority. 67% of executives reporting high-profile breaches have pushed cybersecurity up the C-suite agenda, and executives say that increasing boardroom engagement in cyber-resilience discussions will be a top five priority for the next 12 months.
“Criminal activity and nation state-backed actors are leveraging AI to increase the sophistication, volume, and success of their attacks. It is imperative for businesses to adopt a resilience-by-design playbook to have success defending their clients, suppliers, and organizational data,” said Kory Daniels, Chief Security and Trust Officer, LevelBlue. “Retailers’ success requires the trust of consumers and suppliers, and there is still an opportunity for organizations to close critical gaps. While many organizations are taking proactive steps, challenges indicate the need for ongoing investments and continued cyber-resilient culture to be effective in an evolving threat landscape.”
The report reveals additional indicators of retailers proactively focusing on improving cybersecurity measures including:
- 60% of executives say their cybersecurity team is integrated with lines of business
- 51% say that leadership roles in their organization are measured against cybersecurity performance indicators
- 44% say they have effectively aligned business risk appetites with cybersecurity risk management.
- 40% say they have an effective company-wide cybersecurity culture
Additionally, retailers say they are most likely to invest significantly in the following areas to prepare for evolving threats:
- Application security (66%)
- Cyber-resilience processes across the business (65%)
- Generative AI for social engineering attacks (63%)
- Machine learning for pattern matching (63%)
Based on these findings, LevelBlue recommends four specific steps for retailers to achieve a future of cyber resilience: push cyber resilience up the organization, embed cybersecurity responsibilities throughout the organization, be proactive (not reactive), and prioritize resilience in the software supply chain. This means integrating cyber-resilience considerations with business decisions at the highest level, fostering a cyber-resilient culture across the entire organization, investing in cybersecurity measures to get ahead of risks, such as advanced threat detection and response, and exposure and vulnerability management technologies, and mandating transparency of suppliers’ cybersecurity credentials to help identify potential threats in your software supply chain.
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