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Black Friday, the infamous Friday after Thanksgiving, began as a marketing gimmick to bring brick and mortar retailers in the US out of the “red” and into the “black” with incredible sales on holiday gifts. Today, it is no longer limited to US retailers to kick start the holiday shopping season. Ecommerce has brought online Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals global, as the quest for great deals on Hanukkah and Christmas presents is not unique to Americans. In 2014, international Cyber Monday sales topped $2.68 billion, with Black Friday coming in at $50.9 billion.

Whether you're a sole trader selling via Etsy, a chain of independent retailers, or bigger, you need to make sure you're ready to cash in and not out. So, are you ready for this year's Black Friday?

Here are some quick IT security tips for retailers during the Christmas shopping season:

If you host your website yourself, make sure that you’ll have adequate bandwidth for all of your customers. Ensure that all of your software and firmware is updated. Updates often contain security patches, and you don’t want cybercriminals cashing in on all of your sales. If you have advertisements on your website, ensure that none of them contain malvertisements—ads that have been infected with malware to scam your customers. Have layered cybersecurity solutions in place - things like Web protection and spam and virus filtering. These can help prevent malware from ever coming into your inbox or being downloaded from the Web.

While there is no "silver bullet" when it comes to protecting systems and thwarting online threats, following the tips above and implementing a blended security approach that leverages current intelligence and technology from several sources, you can prevent feeling black this holiday season.