MINNESOTA RETAIL LAWYER

The retail industry drives the U.S. economy and is the largest source of jobs throughout the country.  Retail is comprised of individuals and companies engaged in the sale of finished products to end-user consumers.  Retail is your shopping mall, pizza place, veterinary office, grocery store and businesses of all sizes ranging from a local Mom and Pop establishment to multi-store retail chains that are publicly traded on the stock exchange.

As the primary target of cyber criminals is consumer payment card (credit card) data, it is no surprise that the retail industry is the most compromised sector of the U.S. economy. These cyber attacks aren’t random, and there are plenty of reasons that hackers go after retailers. Even the strongest retail players are at risk: with massive amounts of customer information being stored across multiple channels, a hodgepodge of new and old systems/hardware combined with limited IT resources, the task of successfully defending retail networks from vulnerabilities is daunting.

The increasing normalcy of data breaches in the retail industry has highlighted the fact that retailers need to be doing more and the remedy starts from the inside out. As counsel, I work very closely with my retail clients to:

• Provide “immediate response” guidance when a client experiences a cyber attack or a data breach.

• Assess and ensure PCI Compliance including review of current policies and procedures for compliance with industry and brand standards.  

• Counsel clients on website and mobile application development to address data security obligations and risks.

• Perform cyber and data security gap analysis to identify vulnerabilities and provide the roadmap for remediation of risk areas.

• Develop cyber response strategies and incident response plans to ensure clients properly respond to cyber-attacks from threat vectors including third-party hacks, fraudulent electronic transactions, employee/insider malfeasance, ransomware and all manner of phishing. 

• Adopt and/or assess emerging technology such as blockchain and cyber currencies.  

• Policy and Process Development - partner with clients to meet their evolving data security/cyber/privacy challenges.  We work together to develop the necessary information security programs and policies and procedures, both organizational and employee focused, required to meet these challenges.

• Provide oversight and guidance for internal investigations regarding employee misconduct, fraud and compliance.