The internet is full of good people who just want to do business with your e-commerce store – and that’s great! However, the internet is also full of unsavory people looking to take advantage of online shops just like yours.
It has been predicted that between 2016 and 2020, e-commerce fraud loss is going to be a secure online small business. Learning how to beef up your e-commerce store security can save you money, increase customer satisfaction, and help you grow as a reputable online business.
Proactively addressing some key security issues is the only way to mitigate risk, protect customer data, and reduce the potential for losses.
1. Take better control of your passwords.
According to a survey from Harris Interactive, “59% of brands admit to reusing passwords because it is too hard to remember them.” In addition, 54% of Americans agree that their password habits are poor and need to change.
Never reuse the same passwords across your internal systems, especially where there are public-facing logins and, especially, not for administrative accounts.
It’s best to generate a unique password for each of your systems, and then set up a schedule for updating passwords.
You can also use a password manager to generate passwords from an encrypted vault where your sites are only accessed locally and only with a master password. This ensures a unique password is generated for every site.
2. Encrypt your entire store.
The old approach to encryption for eCommerce was to use SSL encryption for the checkout experience. Changes have already been made to promote higher security in websites; a recent update from Chrome aims to make browsing more secure for its users.
Customers will be served a security warning on any site/page that attempts to gather customer data, such as with a form, as long as those pages are not encrypted.
Platforms like Shopify are now using SSL site-wide, across every one of its customer sites and every page within.
3. Secure Your Servers and Admin Panels
Most eCommerce platforms come with default passwords that are ridiculously easy to guess. And if you don’t change them you are exposing yourself to preventable hacks. Use complex password(s) and usernames and change them frequently.
You can go one step further and make the panel notify you every time an unknown IP attempts to log in. These simple steps can significantly improve your web store’s security.
4. Payment Gateway Security
While it may make processing payments more convenient, having credit card numbers stored on your database is a liability. It’s nothing less than an open invitation for hackers where you put your brand’s reputation and your customer’s sensitive information on the line.
If you fall victim to a security breach, and hackers get their hands on credit card data, all you can do is to say goodbye to your business because the heavy fines will force you into bankruptcy.
In order to save your business from this terrible fate, you should never store credit card information on your servers and ensure your payment gateways security is not at risk. Additionally, you can use third-party payment processing systems to carry out the process off-site. Popular options include PayPal, Stripe, Skrill, and Wordplay.
When it comes to eCommerce recommendations, you must obtain a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) accreditation.
5. Use Firewalls
Another effective eCommerce recommendation is to use firewall software and plugins that are pocket-friendly yet effective. They keep untrusted networks at bay and regulate traffic that enters and leaves your site. It offers selective permeability and only allows trusted traffic in. They also protect against cyber threats such as SQL injections and cross-site scripting.
6.Use of SSL
Transmission of information over the internet is always insecure, as there are high chances of information theft.
One of my clients from Poland had an issue related to security. He was having an eCommerce marketplace and not got a single order in 4 months. When our engineer looks into the website we analyze it was victimized due to brute force attack. Someone has tried to hack the website and got access to the customer data.
This thing can affect the store in two forms.
1) As the store is not verified, it becomes very hard for the customers to trust the store. As result store was facing high abandonment rates
2) Customers’ data can be compromised as the information transmission was plain.
We suggested the client buy an SSL certificate. Secure Socket Layer is the certificate that encrypts the data exchange between the web server and the customer.
It is one of the best ways to improve the security you can provide to your customers. Due to this information transmitted to your customers’ devices and the webserver will be encrypted hence there are no chances of data leakages.
7. Stay Updated
The importance of regularly updating WordPress core, security tools, and plugins can be stressful, however, install security updates and patches as soon as they release because hackers can use bots that identify which websites use outdated software. That makes outdated software a serious liability.
For more cybersecurity Information contact us at help@theweborion.com
