eCommerce security – A complete guide

With the increasing popularity of shopping from online platforms that mark for an estimated 1.8 million people who do online shopping, the rise of cyber threats are reported to increase exponentially. Said that, the Cyber-crime Magazine survey suggests that online retail shopping platforms will make their way in the top 10 most cyber-attacked industries for 2019-2022. 

Earlier times, due to brick and mortar stores, the threat to retail shops was detected quickly. But with the online era and cyber-attacks occurring often, we indeed require eCommerce security to become a necessity. 

With this post, let’s get aware of the importance that eCommerce security holds in today’s era for business growth. 

---

Top threats to eCommerce stores

The types of cyber attacks prevailing in today’s era are vast and varied, making it impossible to delve them all in one blog post. But some cyber threats have topped the list by being the most prevalent and familiar making it vital for you to learn about them.

• Phishing

Phishing refers to a type of cyber-crime in which a target or targets are tricked into clicking malicious links or attachment through email, text or phone. Said that we need to know that 92.4% of malware activity takes place through emails. When the target clicks the link or attachment, it starts distributing trojans or malware to gain the foothold of the organisation by getting into their private information like passwords, account numbers, social security numbers and much more.

• Malware and ransomware

A type of threat that infects your device by locking you out all of your relevant data and system is known as malware or ransomware threat. It prevents you from accessing all your programs, personal files and asks for a ransom amount to regain access. There are several different ways that ransomware can infect one’s device, including spam emails, text and attachments. 

• SQL injection

It is the type of cyber threat in which the attacker puts your eCommerce website into risk by insecurely storing the data into the SQL database. When your site is not validated correctly, the attacker injects a malicious query into the package payload to get access for viewing and manipulating the information in the database. 

• Cross-site scripting

When the attacker inserts a piece of malicious code into your code(JavaScript) of the web page, it is known as cross-site scripting. The attack mainly targets the users of the eCommerce website rather than the organisation itself. It impacts the website by tricking the users and exposing them to malware, phishing and more cyber threats. 

• E-skimming

The process of stealing personal information like credit card credentials or payment processing information required while using the eCommerce website is known as e-skimming. Most attackers try to gain access to the above information by accomplishing phishing attacks, cross-site scripting, brute force attack and much more. 

---

What is eCommerce security?

With the world adopting more digital platforms lately than ever, the frequency of cyber-attacks has skyrocketed.  eCommerce security refers to the set of measures taken to protect the businesses and their respective clients from the various prevailing cyber threats. 

In 2014, eBay, the most prominent auction giant and a storefront enabling direct-to-consumer small businesses were hacked. The attackers stole all the passwords and personal information generated about the user, but no financial information was lost. Though no financial cyber attack occurred, yet the brute force attacks exposed the users to a significant risk of vulnerability.

Therefore, this marked eCommerce security a greater need of the hour. 

---

Why is cybersecurity imperative for your business?

eCommerce websites are often loaded more with customer information than the other online platforms and the Global Information Security Survey reports that customer information is the most valuable data for attacking and performing malicious practices. The surveys suggest that the eCommerce industry is the most vulnerable industry as it experiences an estimated 32.4% cyber attacks in varied forms.

Enlisting some reasons why the cyber-secure environment is a necessity – 

• Compliance

Businesses often run and flourish because of the ground level commitment, which is referred to as compliance. eCommerce businesses are required to attain a specific set of standards to be considered in compliance; else fines can be levied against the company or the person-in-charge. 

• Financial solvency

If breaching occurs at your eCommerce platforms, a whole set of problems arises that need to be addressed. Often when a cyber-crime attacks online platforms, they may have to pay for forensic investigation, credit monitoring for impacted parties, data recovery services and even they have to turn to cyber liability insurance to mitigate the risk that arises due to financial crisis and much more. 

• Customer trust

It’s a common saying that customers trust other customers and not marketers. So, it is imperative that we leave no stone unturned to build their trust in us. 64% of customers are unlikely to hold a particular business again with the company from where their data or credentials were stolen. 

So it is critically vital to earn customers’ trust for a continued health and long term loyal relationship. Especially for the customers who share their sensitive information with the merchants, they shop with. 

---

How to protect your eCommerce stores? 

Here’s a list of some effective practices that can be infused and used into your eCommerce platforms providing better protection from privacy invasion: 

• Implement robust and unique passwords and make sure your customers do too

Most of the cyber attacks happen due to the stolen passwords. So, it is critically important to infuse a little more effort while building up the eCommerce website to help your customers in differentiating weak and secure passwords. 

As said, 80% of cyber attacks occur due to weak and stolen passwords. So, here’s a list of to-dos that must be implemented for strong passwords – 

• Never share your password with anyone and everyone. Have a unique and private username and password.
• Strong passwords are 8-characters long, including a mix-match of capital & small letters, digits and special characters.
• Make sure you have different login-credentials for your various portals. None should match with your eCommerce platform. 
• Never share sensitive information on any platform, especially your eCommerce websites.
• You can use a password manager.

 

• Protect your devices

Every device, whether desktop, laptop or your phone needs to be protected from getting infected with a cyber attack. To make sure that your devices are cyber-secure, install anti-viruses, firewalls and every method that helps you protect your devices from privacy invasion. 

• Prefer HTTPS

Make sure you opt for secure HTTPS hosting requiring the SSL certificate as it ensures security for your website. HTTPS plays a critical role in putting a positive impact on your users, especially tech-savvy users. Also, it acts as a boon while you start its online marketing as websites with HTTP hosting are penalised by Google and fail to rank during the organic search rankings. 

• Backup your data

It is imperative to back up your information because breaching and data loss often happens. So, therefore it is necessary to install systems with backup features to pass over every obstruction without causing an interruption in the running of the program.

• Only store the customer data that you need

It is critically important to not store unnecessary data about the customer during the transaction process. Only store information or data that is optimally necessary for your business. As eCommerce platforms process payments online, it is essential to ensure that your online portal is compliant with PCI DSS.

Choose the payment integrator, which performs the encryption process before storing the individual’s card information.

• Implement additional authentication factor

Since the potential consequences of the breach are getting so often, eCommerce platforms should start adopting the two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication process. This helps you establish convenience and security for both business and customer.

• Perform regular updates and checks on eCommerce platforms

eCommerce security highly depends on daily updates and audits performed to check the possible vulnerabilities. It also assists in removing the vulnerability before the damage worsens. So, it is critically essential to have regular or weekly security checks for your platforms as well as the operating system.  

---

The bottom line

With the plethora of eCommerce websites, the eCommerce security is serving not just the defensive purpose; but it is seen as a genuinely excellent business practice that can help you keep ahead in the curve. But eCommerce security seems too much for a person to handle; therefore, you ought to hire the professional agency that can bring the best results on a platter.

eCommerce security is an endeavor of encompassing individuals, organisations and technologies. MagnoStack is one of its kind platforms where you get every eCommerce development and eCommerce security solution. We are marketing professionals with certified knowledge.

As we prioritise privacy and security, we are always packed to resolve any eCommerce security issue that you may have. Also, this turns out to be a benefit for you, as you can have an unwavering focus on the growth of the business rather than being worried about security monitoring and maintenance.

MagnoStack helps you build an eCommerce platform that marks the beginning of potential and loyal customer relationships.