Data breaches present a threat to retailers both on and offline, as ecommerce software and point of sale systems can be hacked if they're not adequately protected. However, the latest information from the annual Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, released April 23, revealed good news for retailers.

Retail analytics revealed that the rate of attacks on POS software continued to decline in 2013, a trend that began in 2011. The data from 2013 showed that just 14 percent of all data breaches that took place last year happened at point of sale terminals in brick-and-mortar stores across a number of retail sectors. Threat Post pointed out that this was nearly half the amount of POS-based attacks in 2011 and 2012, which the DBIR report showed accounted for more than 30 percent in those years.

Hackers and cyber criminals often target retailers' points of sale to steal the personal and financial information of consumers. To keep customers and businesses safe from attacks, retailers may want to look into POS systems that offer strong encryption services such as Retail Pro International's payment solutions. This will add a layer of protection to shopper information.

The study also revealed that the vast majority of data breach incidents came from within businesses. Retailers can curb this risk by limiting the number of employees who have access to the retail management system.