Securing Real-Time Retail Inventory and Analytics Systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15662/j2ygep19Keywords:
retail security, IoT devices, real-time analytics, end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, proactive threat monitoring, PCI DSS complianceAbstract
The rapid digitization of retail has accelerated the adoption of IoT-enabled platforms for inventory visibility and real-time analytics. While these systems provide unprecedented operational agility, they also expand the attack surface by introducing distributed devices, streaming APIs, and cloud-hosted services. Point-of-sale terminals, RFID sensors, and warehouse IoT gateways represent critical endpoints where security breaches can compromise both customer data and inventory integrity.
This paper examines a security-embedded architecture for real-time retail inventory and analytics systems. The proposed framework integrates end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, device hardening, and proactive threat monitoring into cloud-native retail pipelines. The architecture is evaluated against confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) criteria, with additional focus on resilience to insider and external threats. A case study of a multinational retail deployment illustrates how the adoption of these practices resulted in a measurable 90% reduction in security incidents, improved compliance with PCI DSS, and enhanced trust among customers and partners.
By synthesizing insights from academic research and real-world industry implementations, this study demonstrates that security must be designed as a foundational capability of IoT-enabled retail systems, rather than as an afterthought. Key contributions include a layered security model, practical metrics from a retail deployment, and lessons learned on balancing security with system performance and operational agility.
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