It may seem like an exaggeration to think so, but digital security will be a priority item for people and companies.

Have you ever thought about how a restaurant delivery service can impact your privacy? Know, then, that the security of personal data will increasingly be at the center of the discussions of our lives in the coming years, including when ordering your dinner. The topic is worrying and becomes even more important now, in times of social isolation, since we are sharing information for a multitude of companies and delivery people. Given this new environment, even the purchase of that Friday night pizza may be the target of a hacker. Ever wonder?

It may seem like an exaggeration to think so, but digital security will be a priority item for people and companies. The transformation imposed by the pandemic has meant that restaurants and bars need to prepare for a new era in the use of information, with specific customer records, storing data and securely transacting. In other words, as orders arrive via the web, they need to keep up with the volume increase not only in their kitchens and delivery flows, but also in protecting the entire digital structure.

According to surveys by national consultancies, the delivery area practically doubled in size in Brazil during the first months of the pandemic, driven mainly by the food sector. As a result, we have seen an explosion of new applications and services – which do not always deliver digital security.

There are plenty of reasons to live this rise in delivery. The biggest one is that the use of delivery applications has been the fundamental way for the survival of several restaurants and bars that had reduced movement due to the restriction measures. It is not by chance, moreover, that we have seen an increase in the number of purchases for delivery, even in sectors that, in the past, did not even plan this sales format.

In any case, marketers must understand that paying attention to customer data is a vital issue for maintaining their operations in the long term. Global studies indicate, for example, that more than half of customers who are ordering their purchases at home should continue to order online as a form of consumption even after the end of the pandemic.

This means that bars and restaurants can no longer afford to be offline even for a minute. It is necessary to guarantee high availability of the networks, with protection always up to date. Therefore, businessmen in the sector should understand that connecting their brands and services with the public now definitely includes data security and the virtual experience of their operations. With the high number of connections and online flows in your systems, ensuring network availability, in addition to security, is essential.

They need to make sure, for example, that the delivery platforms used actually adopt the best cybersecurity and privacy practices in the market. In the same way, of course, it is also necessary that restaurants and bars adopt the most appropriate systems for their internal operations, always looking for the most complete solutions to guarantee the security of customers in the face of digital threats.

One way to do this is to focus on points such as active monitoring of all connections with blocking traffic and unwanted content, segmentation of networks (separating access to the administrative part of the network open to customers), and also establishing very specific settings for management of the environment as a whole. In this scenario, there is no doubt that SD-WAN networks, defined by software, are great options for connecting branches efficiently, reinforcing network availability and simplifying the centralized management of any security parameter related to the infrastructure or the network.

Investing in more modern solutions is now the only way to keep up with the transformation we have been experiencing, with the delivery era becoming unquestionable. This is because cybersecurity is inserted as a key to success in this new normal that we are building. As we move towards a digital market (with the mix of physical and digital in all our contact points), it is mandatory that companies understand the demand brought by mobility and connectivity.

The Covid-19 crisis may certainly have forced the expansion of e-commerce, but people’s consumption model will not return to the level before the coronavirus. This implies that electronic commerce and delivery will continue to be an important part of the profitability of operations. Likewise, taking care of the consumer experience and digital data security will be one of the stages of the work of companies and establishments.

It’s also worth noting that the need to take care of information is a legal parameter. It’s essential to comply with the rules of the General Law on Protection of Personal Data (LGPD) and the Civil Framework of Internet, which require new practices to protect consumer sensitive information, under the risk of penalties, such as fines and digital blockages.

It seems that we are increasingly dependent on the services that bring the things of the world into our homes. Imagining the delivery of your favorite restaurant as one of those involved in this journey of digital transformation seemed disproportionate, but it isn’t – in a super connected environment, we all have responsibility for digital security. It’s essential that restaurants and bars understand this quickly so as not to question a recipe that has everything to be successful.

With more than 5,000 clients, Blockbit is one of the leading manufacturers of cybersecurity solutions, empowering businesses to protect themselves against a wide range of threats, vulnerabilities, and cyberattacks, whether internal or external, generic or specific.