Cybersecurity in Distribution

The distribution industry has never faced more pressure to adapt. Economic uncertainty, labour shortages, supply chain disruption, rising costs, and rapid technological change are forcing businesses to rethink how they operate.

At the same time, cybercrime has become one of the greatest business risks organisations face today. Modern distributors are increasingly connected, data-driven, and reliant on uninterrupted operations. That makes cybersecurity no longer just an IT issue; it is now a business priority.

The good news is that strengthening cybersecurity does not have to begin with buying more security tools. It starts with modernising the systems that run your business.
A modern cloud ERP solution can help organisations stay competitive while improving resilience against evolving cyber threats. At Epicor, protecting customers is built into everything we do, helping distributors focus on growing their business with confidence.

Modernisation Is the Foundation of Cyber Resilience

Distributors today operate in an environment that demands constant adaptation. Market uncertainty, increasing customer expectations, workforce challenges, inflation, supply chain complexity, artificial intelligence, and geopolitical events are reshaping the industry.
According to recent IDC research, only 13% of distribution organisations have fully embraced digital business transformation. Those that continue relying on legacy systems are more likely to experience dissatisfied customers, disconnected operations, employee frustration, and greater cybersecurity risks.

Modern ERP systems do far more than automate business processes. They provide the digital foundation needed to respond quickly to change, adopt new technologies, improve visibility, and strengthen business resilience.

Cybersecurity is one of the most important benefits of modernisation. When ERP systems remain outdated, unsupported, or difficult to maintain, they often become attractive targets for cybercriminals.

Top Four Takeaways

• Modern business challenges require modern digital systems.
• Legacy ERP environments increase operational and cybersecurity risks.
• Modern ERP supports innovation, agility, and business resilience.
• ERP modernisation strengthens the foundation for better cybersecurity.

Cybercrime Is Now Everyone's Business

Cybercrime continues to grow in both scale and sophistication. It has become the number one business concern for organisations globally, ahead of natural disasters and supply chain disruption.

The financial impact is staggering. Cybercrime is expected to cost the global economy trillions of dollars annually through lost productivity, business interruption, reputational damage, regulatory penalties, and recovery costs.

The profile of cyber attackers has also changed dramatically. Highly sophisticated nation-state groups continue to operate worldwide, but organised crime groups, ransomware services, and even young attackers with readily available hacking tools are creating new risks for businesses of every size.

Today, cybercrime has become easier to launch and more difficult to defend against.

Top Four Takeaways

• Cybercrime is one of the world's fastest-growing business risks.
• Financial losses extend well beyond ransom payments.
• Attackers range from organised criminal groups to nation-state actors.
• Every distributor should expect to be a potential target.

Why Are Distributors Increasingly Targeted?

Wholesale distributors present an attractive opportunity for cybercriminals because every hour of downtime directly impacts customer service, warehouse operations, logistics, and revenue.
Many organisations still operate legacy ERP environments that lack modern security capabilities such as multi-factor authentication, continuous monitoring, and automated patch management. These weaknesses create opportunities for attackers.

Distribution businesses also operate within highly connected supply chains. Every supplier, customer portal, API, warehouse system, logistics partner, and financial institution creates another connection that must be secured.

As digital ecosystems expand, so does the potential attack surface.

Top Four Takeaways

• Operational downtime creates significant financial pressure.
• Legacy systems are easier for attackers to exploit.
• Connected supply chains introduce additional cyber risk.
• Cybersecurity should extend across your entire business ecosystem.

The Reality Check: How Do Cybercriminals Gain Access?

One of the most surprising cybersecurity statistics is that many successful attacks begin without sophisticated hacking techniques.
A large proportion of attacks simply involve criminals logging in using legitimate user credentials. Phishing emails, stolen passwords, and social engineering remain some of the most successful attack methods.

The remaining attacks often exploit unpatched software, unsupported operating systems, or system misconfigurations. Even a single outdated server can become the entry point for a major cyber incident.

For cybercriminals, the objective is usually financial. They seek to disrupt operations, encrypt business-critical systems, and threaten to publish stolen information unless a ransom is paid.
For smaller organisations, recovering from such an attack can be extremely challenging. Beyond the immediate financial impact, disruption often spreads throughout the wider supply chain, affecting suppliers, customers, and business partners.

Top Four Takeaways

• Stolen user credentials remain one of the biggest cybersecurity threats.
• Regular patching and system updates are essential.
• Cybercriminals focus on business disruption and extortion.
• One successful attack can impact an entire supply chain.

Building Stronger Protection Through Cloud ERP

Although no organisation can eliminate cyber risk completely, businesses can significantly improve their resilience by modernising their ERP environment.

Cloud ERP platforms are designed with security as a core capability rather than an afterthought. Continuous monitoring, automated updates, disaster recovery, data encryption, and multi-factor authentication all contribute to stronger protection.

With Epicor Prophet 21 running on Microsoft Azure, customers benefit from enterprise-grade infrastructure, high availability, regular platform updates, secure backups, and regional disaster recovery capabilities.

Equally important, cloud deployment reduces the burden on internal IT teams, allowing organisations to focus on delivering value rather than maintaining ageing infrastructure.

Top Four Takeaways

• Cloud ERP delivers security designed for today's threat landscape.
• Automatic updates help protect against emerging vulnerabilities.
• Enterprise-grade infrastructure improves business continuity.
• Internal IT teams can focus on strategic initiatives instead of maintenance.

How Does Epicor Help Protect Customers?

Cybersecurity requires ongoing investment, specialist expertise, and constant vigilance.
Epicor has built a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy supported by dedicated security professionals, continuous monitoring, threat intelligence partnerships, and industry-leading cloud infrastructure.

Our security teams work around the clock to identify emerging threats, monitor customer environments, perform vulnerability testing, and strengthen platform security. Epicor also partners with leading cybersecurity providers, including Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Cisco, Qualys, CyberArk, and others to continually enhance protection.

By combining experienced security professionals with advanced technology and trusted cloud infrastructure, Epicor helps customers stay resilient in an increasingly complex threat landscape.

Top Four Takeaways

• Dedicated cybersecurity specialists protect Epicor cloud services.
• Continuous monitoring enables rapid threat detection and response.
• Strategic partnerships strengthen platform security.
• Customers benefit from enterprise-class cybersecurity capabilities.

What Else Does Cloud ERP Deliver?

Cybersecurity is only one advantage of moving to a modern cloud ERP solution.
Epicor Prophet 21 helps distributors access the latest innovations faster, improve operational visibility, simplify upgrades, support compliance requirements, and make better business decisions using a single, trusted source of data.

Cloud deployment also provides easier access to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, while enabling organisations to adapt more quickly as business conditions change.
Ultimately, modernisation is about creating a business that is both more competitive and better prepared for whatever comes next.

Top Four ERP Modernisation Takeaways

• Stronger cybersecurity resilience.
• Faster access to innovation and new technologies.
• Improved business visibility and decision-making.
• Greater flexibility to adapt to future market changes.

How Should Businesses Prepare for the Future?

Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated every year, but so are the technologies available to defend against them.

For distributors still operating legacy on-premises ERP systems, cybersecurity should be viewed as an opportunity to modernise — not simply as another risk to manage.

Moving to a modern cloud ERP platform helps protect your business, supports long-term growth, and enables your organisation to take advantage of the latest innovations while reducing operational risk.

At Epicor, we're committed to helping distributors strengthen both their operational performance and their cyber resilience.

Ready to Start the Conversation?
If you'd like to discuss your current ERP environment, cybersecurity strategy, or the opportunities available through a modern cloud deployment of Epicor Prophet 21, we'd love to help.

Contact the Epicor team at: info.international@epicor.com

Together, we can explore how a modern ERP can help keep your business competitive, resilient, and prepared for the future.