Online stores rely heavily on their cybersecurity measures to protect their customers and drive traffic on their websites. It is also important for them to build trust among customers to assure them that their platform is safe from cyber attacks and credit card fraud. With the rates of cybercrimes higher than ever before, e-commerce stores move to review their cybersecurity strategies. As the age of technology advances, cybercriminals find more intricate methods to compromise online data. One major data breach can compromise customer data, ultimately leading to identity theft. E-commerce businesses need to be proactive about fighting fraud, thus having a strong cybersecurity strategy. Anti-fraud solutions like mobile ID verification and transaction monitoring.
Even renowned companies have major data breaches and are targeted for cybercrimes. As consumers are increasingly preferring to make online purchases, they also need their data to be secure and the forums for online retail to be reliable. This highlights the necessity for online stores to review their cybersecurity strategies and devise some new and better approaches to counter fraud. Some basic strategies through which e-commerce stores can approach cybersecurity involve;
Implement Basic Cybersecurity
Most hackers and fraudsters do not apply and sophisticated and elaborate measures to compromise a website’s security. More often than not, they will use some basic hacking tools or methods to see which website has the weakest or negligible security. They will then target the one that is either devoid of any internet security or has it in the weakest form. This suggests that having a good basic form of cybersecurity can go a long way to protect your website from cyber attacks.
First and foremost, an online website should have a robust, enterprise-grade cybersecurity software. No website should work without it. In addition to that, every computer or device that is used to manage the website should also have business versions of cyber security software installed in them. Additionally, a Virtual Private Network should be used for any remote work that needs to be done on the website. A VPN enables users to connect to servers securely to an offsite server through an encrypted connection. It is primarily used for keeping your data safe from tracking and interception that can be done on public networks.
Another important security measure for online stores to take is to implement as much verification methods on all online user accounts. Particularly for website host accounts, it is necessary to have at least two or more verification measures to authenticate the user whose account is being accessed. Use authentication methods like mobile ID verification through document verification and facial recognition.
For all such people who administer an online store’s website, it is crucial to keep their personal and official computers. Since personal browsing poses a more serious risk to a data breach, if personal work is carried out on a device that is used for website administration, there is a higher chance you may end up downloading malware that can end up compromising valuable customer and company data.
Develop a Plan to Shield Customers from Social Engineering
Perhaps the most subtle but deadly form of data compromise is through social engineering. In most cases cybercriminals do not need complex hacking methods to incur a data breach. In fact, they generally tend to look for vulnerabilities in the system that are caused by human error. An improperly shredded document or an account number lying around is all a social engineer needs to access a user’s account. Although protection from such schemes lies in the hands of individual users, online merchants can also take certain measures to prevent such frauds.
A little training and education can prevent some of the most serious security breaches carried out through social engineering. Most such attacks involve targeting of consumers and employees that are most inexperienced or have joined recently and are not yet aware of the security protocols. This is done after closely observing the employee. This enforces the need for proper training and education of employees dealing with sensitive customer data from day one. Please visit KM Tech for cyber security.
E-commerce store should also take steps to educate their customers about the importance of keeping their personal information secure. All reviews and comments received from customers through social media should be monitored closely to check if they contain any compromisable personal information. Intimation e-mails, text messages and newsletters should be sent by the company as is done by most banks warning customers of fraudsters. All emails that are sent out to customers should be sent through a regulated and fixed, professional e-mail address. Forbid customers and employees to share personal information including passwords, e-mail addresses, credit card numbers and any other sensitive data with anyone via e-mail, phone or direct messages.
Be Aware of the Vulnerabilities in Your System
All businesses use a number of different tools for their business functions. All such tools are used to improve their revenues and make their website more appealing for customers. However, not all such tools have the sort of security that you need to protect your business from fraud. Such vulnerabilities are looked for by fraudsters to infect your website with malware. One of the major things to protect your website from outside attacks is to update all additional tools that you use regularly and check for any vulnerabilities they may have.
Plug-ins used by the website should be maintained regularly. Professional cybersecurity attackers often look for weak points in third-party sources to compromise a website’s security. Another common attack is an XXS attack that takes place through forms, applications or the comments section of a website. Therein the hacker will embed a malware to compromise the security of the website through a specific add-on.
Summing it All Up
The bread and butter for an online retail store is its website. If their website has weak security, cyber attackers will find it all too easy to infect their business with malware. A sound cybersecurity approach can go a long way to secure the business’s future and establish trust and loyalty amongst its customers. Simple measures like anti-malware software, user identification through mobile ID verification and educating employees and customers of social engineering techniques can be extremely helpful in preventing cyber attacks and frauds.
