As an e-commerce entrepreneur, you have most likely promised your customers the best shopping experience and quality products. But that is not all you will have to do for ecommerce success in 2020. You will also have to embrace the obligation of protecting your ecommerce store from attacks. Yes, ecommerce security is nowadays very much the core of any successful online business. In this regard, this article will bring you to tabs with some of the effective e-commerce security protection plans you ought to implement in 2020.
Top Ecommerce Security Threats to Watch For in 2020
Before we delve in deeper plan, let’s look at some of the biggest risks that any ecommerce owner should watch for in 2020:
- Spamming & Phishing
As an ecommerce entrepreneur, you have most likely seen several spam messages on your mailbox, your ecommerce web forms, and the likes. Most of the spam messages are infected with dangerous links with some used for phishing attacks, another type of threat where an attacker masquerades as a legit person/business then tricks you or your team into undertaking certain dangerous actions.
2. Distributed Denial of Service Attack
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is likely to grow in current year 2020. DDOS are types of hacking attacks that can disrupt your e-commerce website by overwhelming the server with loads of requests. If the server is unable to handle them, it will crash taking your ecommerce website down. This type of attack includes compromised computer systems which works as a source of malicious traffic. DDoS stops regular traffic reaching to destination.
- Malicious Bots
Malicious bots are also a danger to your ecommerce, but this isn’t to say that there are no useful bots. You should be aware of those malicious kind of bots that will try to subvert your business. A good example is a bot developed that will scrape website for the product pricing and inventory details. Hackers can use such information to alter pricing on your website. Hackers can collect selling inventory of shopping carts and it will decline in sales and revenue.
- Ecommerce Financial Fraud
Ecommerce fraud is another big threat to watch for in 2020 and they are many forms of these. For example, Hackers can breach your ecommerce security, make unauthorized transactions and leave without a trace. Hackers can also pose as reliable customers, buy the products, and later file for refunds for illegally products. Financial fraud includes identity theft, friendly fraud, affiliate fraud, merchant fraud, etc.
These are just but a few top ecommerce threats to watch for in 2020. There are others including virus attacks, SQL injection attacks, Brute Force attacks etc. Let’s now look at how to take on these forms of attacks:
E-commerce Security & Protection Plan 2020
- Switch From http to https
What is the benefit of one over the other? Well, Https represents the secure version of a website, while http is the normal less secure version. To make the shift, you will simply need to install an SSL certificate, which is a digital certificate that encrypts the connection between a server and the ecommerce website users. SSL certificates are readily available online, and in different types depending on what you are looking for. There are different brands’ SSL certificates available in the market like the Symantec, GlobalSign, RapidSSL, GeoTrust, Comodo SSL certificate, etc. In terms of types, you can pick from options like Domain Validated (DV) SSL certificates, Organization Validated (OV) SSL certificates and Extended Validated certificates. You should purchase SSL certificates only from genuine SSL providers like SSL2BUY.com.
- Install an anti-virus and anti-malware software
Weak security on an e-commerce website is a delight for hackers because they can easily access data and make transactions as they wish. Antivirus and anti-malware tools are highly effective for these days as they can flag suspicious transactions and provide a risk score of malicious processes on your site. For better protection, consider the best antivirus products in the market. Ideally, go good for web security plugins for your website and the usual ones for your tech infrastructure.
- Implement Password Security
Password security sounds simple but it’s that important. Pretty much the same logic used on passwords on devices like your phone to prevent unauthorized access is also be used in e-commerce. The only difference is that e-commerce needs extra effort in terms of password security practices. For example, ensure that all ecommerce user passwords are made of a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols to make it hard for a hacker to breach the security. There are many other password security measures you should implement to protect your ecommerce, including implementing 2FA authentication to add a layer of security on your passwords.
- Install Proper Security Plugins
Some of the threats we have looked at can be prevented through security plugins for ecommerce sites. There are several nice plugins that block against malicious bots, code injections, XSS, viruses etc. In fact, there are plugins tailored for every ecommerce platform, including security plugins for the likes of WooCommerce, Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce, PrestaShop etc. so just find the best free and paid security plugins from trusted sources and install them on your website.
- Monitor and Act malicious Activity, Fast
It’s one thing to notice malicious action on your online business site and another to act. So, keep tabs on all your ecommerce site activity and act fast on anything malicious that crops up. Again, there are some good tools to monitor security of your website, a feat that will make it easy for you to do so. Take prompt action before any fraud transaction take place on your site. Moreover, you should implement security patches on regular base so, hackers can not take advantage of outdated software.
- Educate your Staff & Customers
Hackers often don’t need much to attack an e-commerce website. They only look for a small security loophole to pave entry to deeper levels of your system and it may be allowed via loophole given by staff members. Quite often, it’s unintentional but with that in mind invest in training your staff on matters web security.
Moreover, do the same for your customers as well as they can also be a loophole to a breach. Use clever ways to educate them on how to set strong passwords, credit card security, ways they can use to spot malicious activity etc.
Final thoughts:
As you run your e-commerce business, you will or may have realized that it isn’t an entirely safe space these days. That’s why you need to keep an eye on ecommerce security to secure your present and the future!
