Ecommerce security is criticial for the success of your ecommerce business.
The growth in the ecommerce industry is rising due to internet penetration rates.
Benefits such as discounts, faster delivery options offered by e-retailers, new technologies such as chatbots, and voice assistants, are increasing the demand for online shopping.
As per a report by Shopify Plus, worldwide ecommerce sales have reached US$3.5 trillion. It is likely to double by 2023, reaching US$6.5 billion.
However, there is also an increase in your potential risk for data breaches. Mitigating the inherent risk of ecommerce security requires a security-first approach to maintain customer data integrity, accessibility, and confidentiality.
Let’s understand the importance of a security-first approach to enhance the ecommerce customer experience.
Why is Cybersecurity Critical For Your Business?
eCommerce websites have a ton of customers’ data that makes business owners a target. Customer information is the most valuable data category for attackers.
Every eCommerce business needs to meet a few standards set out by governments or private institutions. Those eCommerce businesses may need to pay fines if they do not comply with those standards.
The major cybersecurity-related regulations are as follows.
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS): PCI DSS is an industry-standard that ensures credit card information is secure when collected online. This data security standard is under PCI SSC and enforced by credit card companies. Any business that manages credit card transactions must comply with the PCI-DSS requirements.
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): GDPR, enacted in the European Union, ensures the protection of personal data and privacy of European Economic Area citizens. If a business sells products internationally to any of these citizens, then it needs to comply with GDPR.
- California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): CCPA is the most recent and farthest-reaching data protection standard in the U.S to protect the data and privacy of private citizens.
Companies must take steps to determine if they meet these requirements to understand the basics of cybersecurity laws. Companies must make cybersecurity a priority once a compliance plan is set. They should ensure that access to protected data is authorized and approved.
What Are The New Ecommerce Security Issues?
Hackers gain access to your website through phishing, brute force attack, XSS, or third-party compromise. They capture your customers’ personal and sensitive payment information.
Here is the list of new eCommerce security issues.
1- Denial of Service Attacks
The site and server flooded with fake traffic and malicious queries stop your website from working. These attacks shut down a machine or network for a long time, making it inaccessible to the intended users. Thus, they negatively impact sales.
The goal of DoS attacks is to deplete the target’s resources to create a denial-of-service. The DOS attack may result in a loss of reputation and cost a large amount of time and money.
These attacks can come from different sources, including applications, traffic flooding, and an overwhelming amount of server-side requests.
2- Phishing
Phishing is a hacking technique of mass-mailing malicious emails to trick people into clicking on malware links and disclosing private information.
Spear phishing is an even more dangerous variant of phishing that targets specific victims with emails claiming to be from friends and colleagues.
The biggest challenge in securing against phishing is that standard email security software like spam filters is not effective against the threat.
There are critical success factors that help in phishing prevention and control, including user authentication, website authentication, email authentication, data cryptography, communication, and active risk mitigation.
3- Malware and Ransomware
Ransomware is malware that infects your device, network, or computer. You may get locked out of all your crucial data and systems.
A message displayed on the screen demands a fee for your system to work again. It is a criminal money making scheme installed through deceptive links in an email message, instant message, or website.
One of the direct consequences is downtime, as it is expensive.
However, regular backups of your site data can help to have a lesser impact on your business. You can protect your business against attacks by not clicking on suspicious links.
4- SQL Injections
Your eCommerce site is at risk if it insecurely stores data in a SQL database. A SQL injection can affect any website and web-based application that utilizes a SQL database.
With a SQL injection, hackers insert malicious queries into a packaged payload and give them access to view, manipulate any information in a database, delete entries, or create an administrator account for themselves. You can use parameterized queries to protect your business.
5- Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks
An XSS attack includes inserting a malicious piece of coding in Javascript onto a web page of an eCommerce site. The coding looks like a regular script.
The script can access a customer’s session cookie information. Thus, it enables hackers to access confidential information and exposes the victim’s computer to malware installations and phishing attempts.
Use parameterized queries and Content Security Policy (CSP) to protect yourself against this.
6- E-Skimming
E-skimming is a process in which hackers inject skimming code onto payment card processing pages of the website. They send the stolen information to a server using a domain name controlled by the actor.
The collected credit card information is sold or used to make fraudulent purchases.
Vulnerable businesses should secure their websites to prevent malicious code injection.
Moreover, they should implement proper network segmentation and segregation to limit network exposure. It helps to minimize the lateral movement of cybercriminals.
How to Develop A Strong Ecommerce Security Culture To Enhance Customer Experience?
The menace of phishing, whaling, and malware are grave, and payment information is the prominent target.
A security breach on your ecommerce site can lead to a loss of customer data, thus affecting your brand reputation.
You need to select an ecommerce environment that is secure and frequently updated.
Let’s look at a few security measures you should take to enhance the ecommerce security.
1- Secure the Checkout Process
Ecommerce businesses should select a third-party payment vendor that customers can trust. For example, PayPal is a trusted payment platform for customers. Display SSL certificate and padlock symbol to promote the security of your website.
2- Create a Privacy Policy
Customers always want to keep their private data secure. Therefore, eCommerce businesses should consider adding a privacy statement on their websites that outlines how they protect sensitive customer information.
3- Require CVVs
Ecommerce websites that ask for a three-or four-digit card verification value of a credit card improve the likelihood of preventing fraudulent transactions.
CVV is present only on physical credit cards. Thus, it impairs the hackers who purchase credit card numbers on the dark web to provide the CVV information.
4- Implement a Single Point of Control
Reduce the number of access points to sensitive information. You can employ POS systems and warehouse management systems, and IoT-enabled devices to collect data in-store.
Another solution is using the cloud as a single point of control for multiple access points. It reduces the security gaps in your hardware and software, making hackers unable to access valuable customer data.
5- Protect Your Devices and Customer Data
Ensure to keep your critical customers’ data separate from other information by segmenting your network.
Deploy anti-virus software, firewalls, and conduct audits to ensure that all security measures are functioning well.
As the number of data privacy regulations is on the rise, it is crucial to build your own business’ approach to balance customer experience, business convenience, and security.
6- Switch to HTTPS
If your website collects sensitive information or conducts transactions online, then you should plan to host HTTPS on your website instead of HTTP.
Hosting https protects data by encrypting it before sending it by using the Secure Sockets Layer.
There is also a benefit of HTTPS that it sends a positive trust signal to your customers. Google penalizes websites with HTTP in organic search rankings.
7- Be PCI DSS Compliant
PCI DSS compliance is a must-have for a website that transacts money online. PCI DSS is a universally accepted yardstick for eCommerce security. It ensures that the website is safe to transact money.
8- Stay Up To Date with Security Patches
It is easy for cybercriminals to hack applications and software that are not updated. Hackers can exploit existing vulnerabilities of older versions.
They use software that can crawl the website and trace systems that are not secured. The best way to avoid any loss is to update your ecommerce security measures and update the software to the latest versions.
Final Thoughts
A customer-first approach influences the bottom line of a business the most. Understanding and proactively taking actions towards your customers’ security and privacy builds trust among customers.
It shows that your motive is not just to sell products and services but to hold accountability for their data and operate with integrity. Security-first is the best approach to grow your business in a world where brand reputation and integrity matter.
