Ecommerce companies are increasing every day, with almost two billion digital buyers globally as of 2020. Retail sales are expected to reach US$ 30 trillion by 2023 from US$ 23 trillion in 2017. The growth prospect lures entrepreneurs in this industry to start operations. The growth of this sector and storing of critical customer information also brings in the cybercriminals. E-commerce is among the worst hit by the dark web. It is the reason that e-commerce start-ups and the well-entrenched players need e-commerce Security to prevent any unauthorized access to sensitive customer information.
The Need to have Security Measures
Ecommerce websites store huge amounts of customer data – both demographic and financial data. It is the reason the industry has seen numerous cyber-attacks over the years. The industry needs to earn the trust of its customers and should be able to thwart any cyber-attack that may happen. There must be guidelines in place to safeguard private data.
Privacy of customer data is of prime importance. As e-commerce companies have to adhere to various regulations like the GDPR and other regional data privacy laws, it becomes necessary to ensure processes are in place to protect sensitive data. Moreover, the PCI-DSS regulations require e-commerce companies to put in place stringent procedures to ensure there is no leakage of data.
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The e-commerce companies must also ensure that their customers are not impersonating the information of others. Your customers must show proof of their identity to allow the sellers to feel confident about the person with whom they are transacting. You must ensure that your website can take and verify the credentials of the buyer.
The information of both the buyer and the seller must be confident and under no circumstances can they be changed. Else it would lead to mistrust among both sides. It could lead to a loss of trust in the industry as a whole.
It is, therefore, necessary to put in place stringent security measures and hire an experienced team to help you with the process of deploying such measures.
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Few Common E-commerce Issues
The industry has been facing tremendous risks due to market factors. There is always a risk of fraudsters creating an exact copy of the website and engaging in nefarious activities. Moreover, hackers may gain unauthorized access to the site and make malicious changes to the website or indulge in the theft of client data. Cybercriminals usually take the help of malware and forced access to enter your website. They use various methods like a virus, trojan horses and worms to gain access to your site.
Furthermore, there is a risk of uncertainly in online transactions apart from the delivery of the product and dispute resolution. While these activities are outside the purview of your site, still you must have robust workflows to care of these activities.
Security Measures for Your Website
Use SSL/ TSL Certificates
If your website is still on HTTP, you must immediately migrate to HTTPS using a Comodo Multi Domain Wildcard certificate. It will encrypt the communication between the web server and the browser of the visitor. In this way, any potential attacks can be thwarted as the communication can only be read with a key. This is important as there are multiple touchpoints through the communication will be routed. The requirement to adhere to PCI-DSS guidelines also requires e-commerce companies to install an SSL certificate. Even search engines priorities HTTPS sites while ranking sites for a specific keyword.
Using Multi-layer Security Helps
You can fortify security using a Content Delivery Network to prevent incoming malicious traffic. The other option is to use two-factor authentication whereby an SMS or email will be sent to further action. To use the latter it is necessary to know what is two factor authentication. Two factor authentication is a method of using two different methods to verify the identity of a user. One of those methods is something that the user has, and another is something that the user knows. These two things are combined together to verify the identity of the user. In this way, you can prevent unauthorized access to your systems.
Your organization must have a robust password policy keeping in mind global best practices. Passwords must be changed after definite time intervals. You can also opt for a password manager.
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Ring-fence Your Networks
One of the best ways to stop unauthorized access is to have someone guarding your network. There is nothing better than having a firewall to regulate the flow of online traffic. The firewall can stop malicious applications along with spam and malware. You can additionally install other critical software like intrusion prevention systems, anti-malware and antivirus software to add more strength to your networks. Together, they will ensure that your networks are impregnable.
Have Your Site up to Date
One of the critical areas is to ensure that the software at the website back-end is updated periodically. If you are using WordPress, you can set up alerts to intimate about any software patch releases. You must also ensure that the plug-ins and the theme that you are using are updated regularly. For this reason, you must not use any free themes or plug-ins as they are rarely upgraded. The upgrades are usually to plug any gaps in the software, which could also include any earlier vulnerabilities.
Also Read: Emerging eCommerce Development Trends to Watch Out in 2020
Store Relevant Customer Data
Being an e-commerce site, you need to store some of your customer data. During registration, the customer may provide their demographic details and submit their financial information while buying something from your site. You must not store financial details unless necessary. Ideally, you must not store more data than is required for your operations. Given the growing data privacy regulations, you must draw the line between security and customer experience.
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Conclusion
While the e-commerce industry sees an unprecedented rise, it also has to bear the brunt of ruthless attacks by cybercriminals. To prevent such attacks, e-commerce companies have already come up with a slew of steps. They have already opted for Comodo Multi-Domain Wildcard certificates to encrypt their communication with their customers. You will also need to take periodic backups of the website to prevent extended downtime.
With 56% of all internet traffic coming from automated sources, including hacking tools, it becomes necessary to put processes in place to prevent hackers. We have put forward some of the ways to protect your website.
