eCommerce security is a paramount concern as the website deals with a lot of sensitive user data. However, there are ways to implement that can protect the data. Read ahead to know!
Meta-description: Have an eCommerce website? Security should be your utmost concern, and here are some ways to make your website an unbreakable fortress.
What are online businesses most afraid of? It is not fewer sales, it is not fewer customers, but it is cyberattacks. As per stats, cyberattacks in the first half of 2022 were up by 42% as compared to 2021. Moreover, Accenture’s Cost of Cybercrime Study of 2021 stated that 43% of cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses. And eCommerce businesses are always a hot target for cyber thieves.
So, if you are an eCommerce business, you need to ensure that your site is an online fortress that cannot be accessed by cyber thieves. To ensure that it is, indeed, we will highlight some simple yet powerful methods that you need to follow and implement!
Let’s read ahead and find out!
Why is eCommerce Security Important?
When it comes to the importance of security of an eCommerce website, there are numerous reasons. Here are some of them!
Protect Sensitive Information
eCommerce transactions often involve exchanging sensitive information such as credit card numbers, addresses, and personal details. It is important to ensure that this information is protected from unauthorized access to prevent identity theft and fraud.
Protect Investments
Businesses that operate an eCommerce store have invested a significant amount of time, money, and other resources into building and maintaining their online presence. Without proper security measures in place, they risk losing their investments due to cyber attacks or data breaches.
Shield the Computer Network
eCommerce websites and online stores rely on computer networks to function. These networks can be vulnerable to attacks if proper security measures are not in place. By implementing security measures, businesses can protect their networks from unauthorized access and prevent disruptions to their operations.
DDoS attacks are the primary cyberattacks in the category. They can heavily populate a server and can take down a website in no time.
Speed Up Processing
Customers expect faster, more efficient service while shopping online. If an eCommerce website or store lacks proper security measures, it may slow down the processing of transactions, leading to frustrated customers and lost sales.
Top Ways to Ensure Top-notch eCommerce Security!
The use of eCommerce stores like Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, and many more has increased exponentially in the last few years. COVID was a significant booster for that. As per stats, 27% of the world’s population shops online, and 70% of the US population shops online. So. if the data of millions of people fall into the wrong hands, the loss of capital is unthinkable.
Here are the best methods to ensure top-notch security of your eCommerce store and its data!
Use EV SSL Certificates
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) are cryptographic protocols that provide encryption for communications over computer networks. They are used to encrypt sensitive data transmitted between a client (e.g., a web browser) and a server (e.g., a website).
This helps to protect sensitive information such as credit card numbers, passwords, and personal data from being intercepted by malicious actors. In order to use SSL/TLS, you need to obtain the SSL certificate from a certificate authority (CA).
There are three types of SSL certificates, namely.
- EV SSL Certificate
- OV SSL Certificate
- DV SSL Certificate
There are three types of SSL by functionalities, namely.
- Wildcard SSL Certificate
- Multi-Domain SSL Certificate
- Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL Certificate
Though domain validation certificate and organization valuation certificate may seem a bit lucrative in terms of price. But, the extended validation certificate is the best if you have an eCommerce website.
This certificate can be obtained from the certificate authority after a strict and comprehensive vetting process. You get a site seal and a private key stored in an external drive with an extended validation certificate. It is considered one of the safest choices for eCommerce business.
Keep a Backup
Keeping a backup of your website’s data is an important practice to help protect against data loss due to various potential issues, including hardware failures, software bugs, and cyber attacks. There are a few ways to back up your websites, such as full backup, incremental backup, local backup, and offsite backup.
Use Strong Passwords
One of the most critical security measures you can take is to use strong passwords. If you are stuck with the old 1234 or qwerty123 passwords, it is time to change them, as these can be easily hacked in less than a second.
A strong password should be long (at least eight characters), complex (including a mix of numbers, upper & lower case letters, and special characters), and unique (not used for any other accounts). Avoid using the same passwords for more than one account, and use a password manager to help generate and store strong passwords.
Refrain from storing data on the website
If you are running an eCommerce business website, it is generally not a great idea to store sensitive customer data, such as credit card numbers or personal information, on your website. Instead, you can use a payment gateway or a third-party service provider to securely process transactions and store customer data.
Payment gateways, such as PayPal or Stripe, provide a secure connection between your website and the customer’s bank or credit card company to process transactions without exposing sensitive information.
Another option is to use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to store and manage customer data. CRM systems are designed to securely store and manage customer data, such as contact information and purchase history, and allow you to access and use this data to improve your customer relationships and sales.
Be Mindful of the Hosting Service
The hosting service you choose for your website plays a pivotal role in its security. There could be many services out there that might offer you great features at a lower cost. However, you need to ensure that these features are packed with some top-notch security features as well. Getting a hosting service that has minimal security features will be of no use.
Check for the following features while signing up for a hosting service for your eCommerce website.
- SSL Availability and support
- Regular and automated website backups
- The effective data retrieval mechanism
- Smooth and Secure handling of software updates
- Prevention and reduction of Cyber attacks like distributed denial-of-service
- Malware scanning on a timely basis coupled with isolation from software infection.
Conduct Timely Security Audits
Regularly assessing your website’s security posture can help you identify and address any potential vulnerabilities. This can include penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and other security testing methods.
Other than that, keep a close check on the following!
- Verify if the IP and domain of the website are clean.
- Ensure the usage of strong passwords.
- Encrypt the web app with cryptographic network protocols.
- Keep the data up to date by analyzing incomplete, irrelevant, or incorrect data.
- Update the script and application.
Focus on Making a Strong Customer Authentication System
If you are doing your part and your customers aren’t, it can become tough for you to achieve your security goal. Hence, it is necessary to design a system that authenticates the customers perfectly. For example, a two-factor authentication system is an excellent solution to authenticate customers.
Here are some more ways to create a powerful and foolproof customer authentication system!
- Implement single sign-on for faster and authenticated login.
- Disallowing weak and vulnerable passwords.
- Harness the power of rate limiters to check and verify false users by counting the number of failed attempts. You can block user access temporarily.
- Promote passwordless authentication like fingerprint scanning and face recognition.
Use a Web Firewall
A web application firewall is a security tool that monitors and protects your website from attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other types of malicious traffic. A WAF works by analyzing incoming traffic and blocking requests that match known patterns of malicious activity.
The best thing about Web Firewall is that it is inexpensively available. So, you won’t have to spend a lot to shield your website from different cyberattacks.
Keep Regulatory Compliance in Mind
The protection of user data on an eCommerce website is not just a choice but a necessity. Legal bodies like PCI have laid down some regulatory requirements for all businesses to follow. These requirements are primarily for those who accept online payments via debit and credit cards.
Failing to comply with the rules set by PCI and other legal bodies will not only put user data at risk. But, it will also attract heavy fines and penalties from PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).
Keep Software and Systems up to Date
It’s important to keep all software and systems (e.g., your website’s content management system, server operating system, etc.) up to date with the latest security patches and updates. These updates often include fixes for vulnerabilities that have been discovered and can help to protect your website and systems from attacks.
Other than this, it is also important to check if the themes, plugins, and extensions on the website are updated. If not, it is necessary to update them as soon as possible to prevent any cyberattack.
Bonus Tips
Enable 2FA
Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security to your accounts by requiring you to provide an additional form of authentication, such as a code sent to your phone or email, in addition to your password. This helps prevent unauthorized access to your accounts, even if someone else can obtain your password.
Educate your Employees
Ensuring that your employees are aware of security best practices is an important part of maintaining the security of your website. This can include training them on the importance of strong passwords, how to identify and report suspicious activity, and the importance of keeping systems and software up to date.
It’s also important to establish clear policies and procedures for handling sensitive data and responding to security incidents.
Where to get an EV SSL Certificate?
Getting an EV SSL certificate for a website is the best security measure that you can take. However, buying an SSL certificate can be a hassle as there are a lot of CAs out there, like COMODO, Sectigo, etc.
The best and Cheap SSL certificate provider to get an EV SSL certificate is CheapSSLWeb.com. You can get any type of SSL certificate from them as per requirement. However, it is suggested that you only go for an EV SSL certificate for enhanced security.
Conclusion
eCommerce businesses are booming, and if you are one of them or will be one of them in the future, it is imperative that you plan ahead and be aware that security is the core. eCommerce businesses tend to attract the most cyberattacks. Therefore, it is critical to ensure that it is jacked with all the required protection methods. An EV SSL certificate is the most crucial one.
