A recent report by LevelBlue reveals that two-thirds of retail executives find it increasingly difficult for employees to identify genuine cyber threats due to the growing complexity introduced by artificial intelligence. The report highlights that 44% of retailers have experienced a significant increase in cyberattacks, with 34% reporting breaches in the past year. Despite awareness of these threats, only 25% feel prepared for AI-driven attacks, even as 45% anticipate such incidents. Kory Daniels, Chief Security and Trust Officer at LevelBlue, emphasizes the urgent need for businesses to adopt a resilience-focused approach to defend against sophisticated cyber risks. The report suggests that retailers prioritize cybersecurity measures, including investing in application security and integrating cyber resilience into their organizational culture.
Why do we care?
Here’s the punchline: retail leaders are telling us plainly that their people can’t keep up. And honestly, who can blame them? AI-generated phishing, deepfake voice calls, and increasingly polished lures make “spot the threat” basically impossible for a frontline cashier or store manager. If the defense depends on employees being perfect, it’s already broken.
So the message for MSPs is clear — stop selling the idea that training fixes this. It doesn’t. Retail needs resilience: segmentation so a compromised point-of-sale terminal can’t take down the network, better app security so backend systems aren’t a soft target, and identity controls that don’t rely on users making the right choice under pressure.
The preparedness gap in the report is huge — only a quarter think they’re ready. That’s an opportunity for MSPs who can walk executives through what “ready” actually looks like. Not buzzwords. Not tool lists. A real operational model they can understand and invest in.
Retail knows it’s vulnerable. They just need someone to translate that awareness into a plan that actually works. MSPs who can do that win.