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Cybercrime is predicted to cost $8 trillion in 2023. Unfortunately, the retail industry is the most targeted sector for cyberattacks. As such, developing reliable solutions for cybersecurity is of the utmost importance for e-commerce businesses due to the nature of the industry.
Each online shopping transaction involves the exchange of sensitive information, including credit card numbers, names and addresses. What’s more, customers rely upon e-commerce businesses to safeguard their information and identities. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are always on the lookout to steal this valuable data for identity theft, fraud, and other malicious activities.
Without proper measures, e-commerce platforms quickly become vulnerable to attacks, scams, and malware infections from fraudsters. Ultimately, they can suffer financial losses and reputational damage if they are unable to mitigate these threats.
Types of Cybersecurity Threats for E-commerce Businesses
E-commerce attacks come in various forms, yet each is damaging in its own right.
- Phishing: A fraudster sends messages to customers pretending to be your business in the hopes of obtaining private information. Typically, phishing attacks request customers to verify their accounts by logging into them. At that point, scammers will steal the personal data.
- Financial Fraud: Hackers can gain access to personal or payment information from customers and sell that information. Financial fraud can consist of credit card fraud, where a fraudster uses a stolen credit card to make purchases, or fake return and refund fraud, where they make unauthorized transactions and file for fake returns.
- Spam: Fraudsters send infected links to customers that direct to spam websites if clicked. In addition to damaging website security, spamming also affects website speed.
- Malware: Malicious programs including viruses, spyware and ransomware that hackers install into computer systems so they can spread to customers.
- Bots: Certain bots can visit websites to obtain information about prices and inventory to give to competitors so they can modify their own prices.
Below, we break down the steps e-commerce businesses can take to secure themselves against these cyber threats.
1. Multi-factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a security mechanism that requires users to provide multiple forms of identification to access their accounts or perform specific actions, such as logging in or making a transaction. Often, MFA requires users to provide two factors of authentication, such as a password and a one-time code sent to their phone. Requiring two authentication methods makes it more difficult for attackers to gain access to user accounts even if they manage to find or guess the correct password.
MFA helps to improve cyber security for e-commerce businesses in various ways:
- MFA helps to reduce the risk of account takeover by adding an additional layer of security beyond simply a password. Even if an attacker manages to obtain a user’s password, they would still need the second factor of authentication to gain access to the account.
- Implementing MFA can help businesses to comply with regulatory standards and frameworks that require or recommend the use of MFA to ultimately reduce the risk of data breaches.
- MFA can enhance the user experience by providing additional security without requiring users to remember complex passwords or undergo lengthy authentication processes.
2. Regular Security Audits
Security audits are a straightforward way to help identify potential vulnerabilities in an e-commerce business’s systems, processes, and infrastructure that attackers can exploit. By pinpointing their vulnerabilities, businesses can take steps to address them and thus reduce the risk of a security breach.
Security audits allow e-commerce businesses to improve their overall security by identifying areas of improvement and encouraging employees to implement best practices for security.
Security audits can also help ensure that e-commerce businesses comply with relevant regulations and industry standards for data protection and privacy, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Doing so can help prevent the business from incurring fines or other penalties for non-compliance.
By demonstrating a commitment to security through regular security audits, e-commerce businesses can enhance customer trust and confidence in their brand. Customers are more likely to shop with businesses that they trust to protect their personal and financial information. E-commerce businesses should therefore prioritize regular security audits to ensure they are doing all they can to protect themselves and their customers.
3. Software and Operating Systems Updates
Software and operating system updates are essential for maintaining cybersecurity for e-commerce businesses, as they help to address security vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the software or operating system.
Typically, software and operating system updates include security patches that fix vulnerabilities discovered in previous versions of the software or operating system. By installing these updates, e-commerce businesses can ensure that their systems are protected against known vulnerabilities and thus reduce the risk of a successful cyber attack.
Yet software and operating system updates may also include introducing new security features or improvements to existing features. Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving, and attackers are always finding new ways to exploit vulnerabilities. Software and operating system updates can help e-commerce businesses stay ahead of these emerging threats by providing updates that address new security risks and vulnerabilities. For example, an update may add stronger encryption or better authentication mechanisms. By taking advantage of these new features, e-commerce businesses can enhance their security and reduce the risk of a data breach.
Keep in mind that many regulatory standards and frameworks require or recommend regular software and operating system updates as part of a comprehensive security program. By keeping their software and operating systems up-to-date, e-commerce businesses can ensure that they comply with these standards and reduce the risk of non-compliance penalties.
4. Reliable Hosting Provider
E-commerce businesses rely on their website to be available and accessible to customers at all times. Reliable domain hosting ensures that the website is up and running without extended downtimes from server issues or other technical problems. This is important for maintaining customer trust and ensuring that the business can continue to operate effectively.
A reliable domain host will typically have robust security measures in place to protect against cyber attacks, which can help to prevent data breaches, maintain the confidentiality of customer information, and reduce the risk of financial loss.
Expert domain hosting typically includes backup and disaster recovery solutions, which can help e-commerce businesses quickly recover from a data loss event such as a cyber attack, natural disaster or hardware failure. These benefits are crucial for minimizing downtime, preserving critical business data and maintaining continuity of operations.
A good domain host can also help businesses comply with regulations. Often, e-commerce businesses are subject to various regulatory requirements and standards for data protection and privacy, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU or the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). By providing secure hosting solutions that meet industry standards for data protection, domain hosts can help e-commerce businesses succeed.
NameSilo’s SSL certificates provide reliable security and protect your site against fraud and identity theft. A website needs an SSL certificate to confirm website ownership, ensure the security of user data, prevent threat actors from creating a dubious version of the site, and portray trust to users. An SSL certificate promises users that a website is genuine and that it is safe to share confidential information.
Boost Your Cybersecurity with NameSilo
Protect your online business from cyber threats with NameSilo’s secure and reliable domain hosting solutions. NameSilo also provides the trust of a validated domain name when securing your website. With a NameSilo SSL certificate, you receive the “little lock” in your browser bar demonstrating to customers that your site is secure, the world’s best encryption and protection from cybercrime. NameSilo also protects your identity from hackers and spammers for free via WHOIS privacy protection for all domain holders.
Choose NameSilo for peace of mind and ensure that your website and customer data are safe and protected. Contact NameSilo today!