Developing an eCommerce website and starting an online business can be an exciting and successful endeavor. In fact, the market is growing, and if you do it properly, you may experience early retirement.
Many startup business owners overlook the security of their eCommerce website, or may even forget it altogether.
Being the owner of an e-commerce business, the most important thing to you is protecting your store from hundreds of security attacks every day.
Precaution is always better than cure, as you know. Therefore, it is more reliable to secure your website proactively than to wait for an attack to occur.
There are numerous easy preventative measures you can take to protect your website. You do not need to be an expert in computing to implement these strategies.
The purpose of this article is to describe how you can ensure your website is safe from outside threats. This is to ensure that customer data is not compromised, or that damage to your business is avoided. Ensure that your online store is protected at all times. Please continue reading to discover pro tips to ensure that your e-commerce store is bulletproof.
How Does E-Commerce Security Work?
An eCommerce website’s security may very well be its most important feature, or at least it should be. If the security of an online business is not properly instituted, online business owners, their brands, and their customers can be vulnerable to fraud and identity theft. Further, the unauthorized use of credit card details can unnecessarily harm your business, resulting in large losses.
Be aware of thinking that your business will be safe because it is small at the moment. In reality, small businesses tend to be targeted more frequently than larger enterprises. Cybercriminals often find that the security of eCommerce websites operated by small businesses is weak or nonexistent.
They are not wrong. There is a constant threat to small eCommerce sites. A recent study by Imperva, a cybersecurity company, indicates that nearly a third of a website’s traffic is caused by bots attempting to damage it.
Among the many damages a brand might suffer, there is the damage to its reputation caused by actual, monetary fraud. Why should your customers feel comfortable spending money with you if you will not spend money on an unsecured website?
Once a breach occurs, you will have difficulty regaining existing customers, let alone gain new ones.
Therefore, eCommerce security is about ensuring your business and your customers are protected at all times.
How Your Website Might Be Attacked?
There are several ways in which your website might be attacked. Listed below are four of the most pressing security issues currently facing websites. They are among the most frequent attacks that organizations face on a daily basis.
SQL Injections
Are you aware that it is possible to send an erroneous SQL command to your website if the command is inserted into your website’s form? For example, the form could be used by your clients to sign up for an email newsletter or to schedule an initial consultation. Make sure you are aware of this possibility.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
A cross-site scripting attack is also known as cross-site scripting, and it involves the injection of client-side code into your website. A cross-site scripting attack (XSS) aims to inject malicious, harmful scripts into legitimate web pages in order to execute those scripts.
In essence, your website is used to deliver malicious scripts. These attacks are the most harmful and most effective when they are employed in conjunction with forums, message boards, or any web page that allows users to input or post comments.
Furthermore, an XSS attack may lead to the defacement of your website. An XSS attack may cause your site traffic to be redirected to another website rather than directed to your own. This may result in your content being changed or even not visible at all.
DDoS and DoS
The goal of a DoS (Denial of Service) attack is to make your online store inaccessible to normal customers by flooding it with junk traffic. DDoS (Distributed DoS Attack) refers to a series of attacks from multiple devices or from a botnet. Botnets refer to networks of computers that are infected with malware. Both malicious actions are aimed at pushing your eCommerce site down.
If you do not provide a full-blown eCommerce security system for your website, you will be vulnerable to these kinds of attacks.
Brute Force Tactics
A last-resort effort by attackers to disable a website, due to the manner in which it is carried out. By using a botnet, brute force attacks attempt to find information about your website’s administrator.
This is essentially a sophisticated password crack. When this device is given adequate uninterrupted time and paired with the correct programming to allow it to connect with different passwords, it will work.
In order to prevent brute force attacks, you should implement captcha challenges on your website, implement two-factor authorization, and use complex passwords. You should also encourage your users to change their passwords every three to six months.
8 Tips To Secure an Ecommerce Website
If you are aware of the most common security threats that you may encounter on your website, you may wonder what other measures you could take to protect yourself, your users, and your website. As a result, we have put together a list of tips to assist you in securing an eCommerce website that you manage.
1. Regularly Update Your Website and Plugins
An important aspect of eCommerce security to be aware of is that it is not a one-time event. In order to ensure the security of your eCommerce site, you should regularly monitor it, take regular backups, and keep the latest software, plugins, and extensions up-to-date.
Make sure your site is patched as soon as updated versions are released in order to avoid leaving yourself susceptible to attacks. Do not install any questionable software that could compromise the integrity of your website. Instead, you should download, install, and update your WordPress version, themes, and all plugins directly through the WordPress site.
Make sure you are using the most up-to-date version of PHP. In most cases, WordPress automatically updates PHP.
2. Login Through OTP (One Time Password)
It is likely that you are familiar with the OTP if you have ever used online banking or made an online purchase. A one-time password (OTP) is a password that is valid only for a single session or transaction on a computer system or other digital device.
The only person who can receive an OTP is the owner of this particular phone number. By doing so, they will be able to access this password, allowing them to interact with the application and verify themselves with an OTP or PIN. Due to the accessibility of mobile devices and the fact that they can be used as a one-time-use passcode device, businesses throughout the world can benefit from this type of convenience and security.
Using extensions such as mobile OTP login, you can implement the OTP login feature in your Magento 2 store. After only verifying his phone number, a customer may login, register, or select ‘Cash on Delivery”.
One-time passwords (OTP) are quickly becoming a familiar safety feature that guarantees the security of one’s account since they establish a link between a person and his or her telephone number.
3. Select a Secure Web Hosting Service and E-Commerce Platform
Various eCommerce platforms are available to meet your needs, but for optimal security, you need both a secure platform and a web host. There are some security features built into most eCommerce website builders. But not all platforms and hosts are alike or even comparable.
4. Perform Regular SQL Checks
Injections of SQL statements are possible through any form of user input on your website. Therefore, checking regularly for these kinds of vulnerabilities is essential for maintaining the safety and security of your website.
There are a number of software options that can assist you in monitoring, detecting, and preventing these injections, depending on the platform that you are using. It is possible to use free site scanners that perform the same job, but it is important to review reviews and only download from vendors who are reputable.
Choose the scanner that you wish to run daily security checks on your website. As a result, any vulnerabilities can be identified and fixed prior to someone taking advantage of them.
5. Make Regular Backups
Backups are like insurance policies for your website. It is hoped that you will not have to use them, but if you do, you will be grateful for their availability. Not only could you lose sales if your online store went down, you could also lose order information and customer trust.
Imagine the time it would take for you to rebuild your website from scratch. Wouldn’t that be a nightmare? If you are using hosting companies that provide backup support, you can avoid such an event. Moreover, you can easily backup your site by choosing the ideal eCommerce hosting company.
6. Leave Data Processing and Payment Processing to the Experts
To prevent loss of customer data, it is best not to keep any! Do not collect or keep any private information about your customers on your website unless it is absolutely necessary.
For payment processing, use an encrypted checkout tunnel provided by a third party – this is a standard procedure for eCommerce websites. The majority of popular payment gateways are secure and do not leak sensitive information.
Make sure that the payment platform you choose will be compatible with your eCommerce platform and host. It is important to look for fraud prevention and identity theft protection that is industry-leading.
7. Authentication Keys Must Be Configured
As part of the login process, WordPress evaluates the data stored on the browser to verify the identity of the logged-in user. The wp-config.php file contains keys and salts that make this data difficult to compromise.
Security keys for WordPress are composed of four authentication keys and four hashing salts (random data), which when combined add an additional layer of security to cookies and passwords. In order to protect your data, configure the authentication keys.
8. SQL Injection Prevention
A SQL injection attack involves inserting statements in input fields via a code injection attack. Poor coding in your web applications will allow them to accomplish this due to vulnerabilities in the application.
To prevent an SQL injection from occurring, therefore, you will need to utilize typed and parameterized database queries, which can be achieved using various programming languages, including PHP or Java.
Final Thoughts
It is vital for you, as well as your customers, to have a secure eCommerce website. All websites possess the potential to become targets – but if you follow some precautions, you can prevent becoming a victim of malicious users.
The best way to maintain your peace of mind is by following all the security practices above and by keeping your software up-to-date. Have a great time protecting your website and attracting clients!
