The increasing popularity of e-commerce has brought unprecedented opportunities for businesses of all sizes. However, it has also raised concerns about online security, particularly when protecting sensitive customer information.
With the rise in cyber threats such as data breaches, phishing attacks, and malware, e-commerce websites must take extra measures to ensure their customers’ secure personal and financial information.
This is where security for e-commerce websites comes in. Implementing security measures such as SSL certificates, two-factor authentication, and encryption can help protect e-commerce websites from cyber threats and give customers the confidence they need to shop online.
Security Risks and Solutions for e-Commerce Websites
We’ve explored the importance of security for e-commerce websites and provide Solutions for e-Commerce Websites to implement adequate security measures.
Customer’s personal information or financial data could easily fall prey to hackers on the internet. IT Infosys UK has outlined some of the most significant security threats facing e-stores and ways to safeguard your business against them.
Read: 6 Ways to Simplify Your Cybersecurity Activities
#1. Fraudulent Emails
Phishing is a type of fraud in which con artists attempt to trick you into sharing your password and other personal information.
They may do this by pretending they are an established source to steal that data from you. The most popular way of accomplishing this task is via email; other methods include instant messaging, phone calls or texts.
Phishing emails often appear to come from popular websites like eBay or PayPal. They may request personal information, such as your bank account number or ask you to log into your bank account through their site to verify the data.
If you didn’t expect them, don’t click any links within emails, as doing so could allow malware to be installed on your system.
Use the Report button in the upper right-hand part of your message to immediately alert anyone who contacts you with requests for money or personal details so we can investigate their account and protect other people from becoming victims of scammers.
Must Read: What is Email Scanning? The Importance of Email Scanning
#2. Malware Attacks
Malware is software that could compromise your computer’s security or performance and even take sensitive information.
It can be installed through email, browser, or even drive-by download. If you need clarification on what malware is, how it poses a risk to online commerce businesses and how to prevent it from occurring, look no further – we have all the answers here!
Read: What is a Cybersecurity Maturity Model?
#3. Older plugins or themes
Your website’s e-commerce store is more vulnerable to cyberattacks if it uses outdated WordPress themes or plugins.
WordPress theme and plugin developers regularly release product updates to secure their products from malicious hackers.
We suggest upgrading your commercial WordPress themes and plugins to the most up-to-date version to prevent attacks.
Read: 7 Methods to Protect your System from Hackers
#4. Query Injections
SQL injection is an exploit that allows attackers to execute SQL commands through online applications. Attackers can make input data appear as structured queries (SQL statements).
The web application treats it as such because the online application doesn’t verify if the input data is accurate.
With SQL injection, data access without restriction, data extraction from databases, and database management are all made possible.
Read: How To Develop The Cybersecurity Workforce?
#5. Man-in-the-Middle Attack
Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack refers to when a computer enters the middle of a conversation between two people, giving off the impression they are speaking with each other when, in reality, they are communicating with an attacker.
Be cautious when entering sensitive information or passwords into public networks since this could occur using Wi-Fi accessible by all.
Read: How can IT Professionals get elected leaders to put Cyber Security first?
#6. Sniffing
Network traffic can be monitored and analyzed while sniffing. Passwords or data about user sessions may be stolen this way.
Sniffing usually involves spyware or malware; however, it could also occur if someone directly connects to your site’s server (for instance, via SSH).
Read: How Businesses can be organized for Cybersecurity Awareness Month
#7. Session Espionage
Hackers use the technique known as session hijacking to access an account of a user without authorization.
Hackers take screenshots or cookies in the web browser’s active session to do this. This gives them complete control over what the user can and cannot do online.
#8. Site-to-Site Scripting
Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a computer security flaw commonly encountered in web applications. Using XSS attacks, malicious individuals can inject client-side scripts into websites other users view.
By entering potentially hazardous information into entry fields such as text boxes or drop-down menus on comment form entry fields, malicious individuals may gain access to your confidential data.
The victim’s browser could then execute the malicious code of an attacker. It may use XSS techniques to send sensitive information from your website directly to its server.
Read: 10 Best ways to increase Cyber Company Security
Common examples of this problem occur when users fill in their credentials on a form but must properly cleanse its input fields before sending it off. HTML content legally displayed on websites using static content management tools often appears gibberish.
Since these scripts are written over existing code, they may be unintelligible gibberish to visitors. However, JavaScript integration into dynamically generated pages such as product feeds or search results where all HTML data has already been created and may even include JavaScript variables can give those pages a more authentic appearance while not impacting other content that may be visible on those pages.
#9. Insecure administrator credentials
Security administrator credentials are the most common way hackers gain access to websites. Long, complex passwords with frequent changes are recommended; two-factor authentication may even be used on some sites for additional protection against intrusions.
You can create strong passwords that are easy to remember with a password manager such as LastPass; there’s no need to store them anywhere that could be stolen or accidentally erased due to this.
Read: How Small Businesses became more Vulnerable to Cyberattacks
Conclusion
Ensuring the security of e-commerce websites is crucial for businesses to protect their customer’s sensitive information and maintain their trust.
With increasing cyber threats, e-commerce websites must implement adequate security measures to prevent data breaches and other attacks.
By using SSL certificates, two-factor authentication, encryption, and other security tools, businesses can significantly reduce the risk of cyber threats and provide their customers with a secure shopping experience.
Ultimately, prioritizing security for e-commerce websites is essential not only for protecting customer data but also for maintaining the integrity and reputation of the business.
