The web applications used by US retailers are more risky than those of EU firms, despite being more modern.

This is according to cyber analyst Output24, whose recent report found US retailers were running more publicly exposed web applications (3,357) compared with EU retailers, which ran fewer just 2,799.

Despite having a smaller attack surface, EU retailers had a higher percentage of applications using old components that contained vulnerabilities (27%) as opposed to their American rivals (22%).

The threat was judged against the following attack vectors: security mechanisms, page creations methods, degree of distribution, authentication, input vectors, active contents and cookies.

Stephane Konarkowski, security analyst at Outpost24, said: “How the web application is built and developed is a key risk indicator if you know where to look. Our research shows the complexity of modern-day applications and the need for retail organisations to understand their attack surface and risk levels. To avoid data breach and the loss of customer trust and revenue, retailers must address security hygiene as an essential step to protect their web applications and ensure the attack surface is kept at a minimum through continuous assessment.”

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