The ecommerce business has seen rapid growth in the last two decades. Thanks to easy access to smartphones and the internet. If you are into this industry or planning to set up your online business, it is a great opportunity. However, cybercriminals always target the ecommerce industry by stealing customers’ data and misusing them for their benefit. A Statista report says ecommerce losses due to online payment fraud were about 20 billion U.S. dollars globally in 2021. Ecommerce security is a challenge, and it can cost you dearly. A single data breach can affect your business and damage your reputation. You must secure the website or app to prevent cyber-attacks if you are a business owner. It is essential for every ecommerce business owner to boost ecommerce site’s security. This article discusses on the major ecommerce business’ security threats. In addition, discuss about how you can prevent them.
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Most common ecommerce security threats
Phishing
It is one of the most common ecommerce security threats these days. The criminals trick customers into getting sensitive information, such as bank accounts or credit card details. The attackers send an email with a link that appears to be from your ecommerce store with some mouth-watering deals and lure customers into providing their card details, and then use it to steal customers’ money. Besides email, a customer can receive misleading SMS with the link.
Malware attacks
A Malware attack is a common cyber-attack where criminals use malicious software and execute unauthorized actions like sending spam from your domain or stealing critical business data. There are different types of malware:
Spyware: It is a common malware steals information about others’ activities on computers or mobile phones.
Ransomware: In this type of cyber-attack, the malware denies a user or organization access to their computer or sensitive files and demands a ransom to restore the system.
Trojan Horse: It is another malware attack where the program misleads the user to download an application disguised as legitimate software.
DoS attack: Denial of services (DoS) is a type of cyber-attack when attackers flood a server with high-volume traffic to prevent users from accessing a
Website or online service. Sometimes you may try to access a website, but you cannot do it despite having a high-speed internet connection. It can be because of a DoS attack, but that may not always be true. The website has a planned downtime or some other issues.
MITM attack
It is another common ecommerce security threat in which the criminals secretly intercept the message exchanged between two parties, unaware of this and believe they are communicating with each other. The attacker accesses or manipulates the conversation to access sensitive data.
SQL injection
SQL injection is an ecommerce security vulnerability wherein attackers manipulate queries the app makes to a database to retrieve critical information from the server.
How to secure your ecommerce store?
Ecommerce websites store many data such as inventory, price, and user information like credit card details, usernames, passwords, and contact details, which attract cybercriminals. Therefore, protecting your ecommerce website or app is necessary if you wish to stay in business. Here are the best tips to improve ecommerce security.
Use an SSL certificate.
The first and foremost thing you need to do to secure your ecommerce store is to install an SSL certificate. Most customers know that a website with HTTP in the URL is unverified and security risk is higher on those websites. On the other hand, a website with an SSL certificate has HTTPS, and a padlock in the URL has a security certificate. Providing your details to such websites has a very low-security risk since the connection between the browser and website server is secure, and no third party can access it. You can get an SSL certificate for websites online and install it. SSL can be either single domain, wildcard SSL, multi domain SSL.
Find a Secure ecommerce Web Host and Website Builder.
Many ecommerce website builders also offer to host the website; some have in-build security features while others do not. Choosing a secure ecommerce platform that provides web hosting and security is a better option. Many options are available nowadays, but you must pick a reliable ecommerce website builder. It will ensure the highest degree of data security for your website and the customers. Here is a checklist of the things before choosing a web host.
-Encryption
-DDoS protection
-Domain name privacy
-PCI-DSS Compliance
-Firewalls
-Virus & malware detection and removal
-Automated backup
-Access controls
-Efficient customer support
-Perform SQL Checks Regularly
Cyber attackers can target user input forms on your website and use SQL injection to retrieve sensitive information. Checking your ecommerce website can prevent these attacks and ensure security. You can use free or paid software tools based on your preference; however, check the reviews and get them from a trusted vendor. Running regular checks will help you detect and eliminate any threats.
Secure your Admin panel
The Admin panel is the most vulnerable part of a website as it can control the whole website and access the database. Protecting the admin panel is critical for ecommerce security. Here are a few steps you can take to secure the admin panel.
-Changing the default admin path
-Restrict access to the admin panel and allow access to the known IP addresses
-Use strong authentication like complex passwords and multi-layer authentication
-Change the default admin username and password
-Limit failed login attempts and notified the administrator on every failed attemptt.
Mandate Strong Passwords for Customers
Every ecommerce store has multiple users and thousands of people access the website daily. They can be shoppers, retailers, or employees. Hackers are always trying to exploit vulnerable points, and if any user keeps, a simple password like 123456, abcdef, or QWERTY, they can access the account and get sensitive information. Make it mandatory to use a complex password. It should have at least ten characters and a combination of upper and lower case alphabets, numbers, and special characters.
Conclusion:
The ecommerce industry continues to grow, and almost everyone shops online, but new security threats are also emerging. However, implementing proper security measures can prevent these attacks. Using wildcard SSL certificates significantly reduces hacking of the payment details and builds customers’ trust. Besides that, following the security measures discussed above are also very effective in ensuring ecommerce security.