Over time, the popularity of e-commerce business has increased exponentially.  Criminals tend to get attracted by the lucrative nature of e-commerce businesses. Contemporary society is plagued with dozens of deceit and fraud cases, which are propagated by cybercriminals across the globe. Data from the RSA indicate that e-commerce businesses have been losing over $6billion annually from the year 2018 due to cybercrime. Besides, e-commerce security threats have been on the rise as criminal’s target e-businesses using various tactics. Those cyber-attack methods come in many forms because hackers have been improving their art over time. This makes it vital for the management of online businesses to be well versed with the latest data security protocols.

List of Main E-commerce Security Issues and Threats

Infographic created by Donnelley Financial Solutions, a data room provider

• Trojan horses
• XSS
• SQL injections
• Brute force attacks
• DDoS attacks
• Bots
• Phishing
• Spam
• Financial frauds

An excellent eCommerce security and protection plan for an online business include

• Switching to HTTPS
• Securing the admin panels and business servers
• Establishing payment gateway security
• Installing the latest anti-malware and antivirus
• Using firewalls
• Utilizing SSL certificates to secure the business website
• Using multi-layer security
• Employing e-commerce security plugins
• Backing up the business data
• Training the staff on cybersecurity
• Investing in a reliable e-commerce platform
• Enlightening customer of cybersecurity

I. Switching to HTTPS

Sytian Ecommerce Developer Philippines believes that it is vital to use HTTPS because it protects the e-business from attacks.
The HTTPS is identified by the trustee green lock sign labeled by the term “secured.” The trustee green lock is located next to the URL bar on the client’s browser. It protects the user data as well as the information that they submit.

II. Securing the admin panels and business servers

In instances where default passwords are easy to guess, it exposes the business to hackers. It is recommendable to use complex usernames and passwords for admin panels and business servers. Also, they should be changed frequently to prevent hackers from accessing data. The system should be designed to notify the admin on instances where a new IP attempts to logs in into the system.

III. Establishing payment gateway security

Credit cards play a critical role in making the payment process efficient. However, over time security experts have established that it is a liability for an e-business to store credit card numbers in its database. That is because, in the event of a data breach, hackers get their hands on credit card data, which is very sensitive. For an e-business to save itself from such a terrible fate, it is recommendable to avoid storing credit card information in its servers. It is also wise to ensure that the business’s payment gateway is free from risk by utilizing third-party payment processing systems such as wordplay, Skrill, stripe, and PayPal, among others.

IV. Installing the latest anti-malware and antivirus

Hackers have been known to use stolen credit card information to pay for goods and services from various parts of the world. With that in mind, it is recommendable for an e-business to use anti-fraud and antivirus software to prevent such scenarios. There is a wide array of anti-fraud and antivirus software available for use in data protection, and they use complex algorithms to flag any unauthorized activity involving stolen credit cards. Hence, aiding an e-business to determine the legitimacy of transactions efficiently.

V. Using firewalls

Firewalls are essential in keeping untrusted networks in check while at the same time regulating traffic that enters and leave the e-business site.  Firewalls are not expensive, yet they are well known for their effectiveness. For instance, they protect against cyber threats by offering selective permeability, which allows the site to accept only trusted traffic.

VI. Utilizing SSL certificates to secure the business website

SSL is the abbreviation used in reference to the Secure Sockets Layer. The SSL certificates play a vital role in linking credit card transactions to different paths attached to a network. That is b encrypting data to prevent it from getting intercepted by hackers before it reaches its destination. Also, it aids an e-business to generate certificates of ownership for its data.

 VII. Using multi-layer security

An e-business can fortify its data security by employing multiple layers of security. It is recommendable for an e-business to use a sophisticated content delivery network to protect its site against untrusted data traffic and DDoS attacks. The multiple-layer security plays a significant role in filtering untrusted data traffic and DDoS attacks.

VIII. Employing e-commerce security plugins

It is imperative to note that security plugins are ranked among the simplest tactics of ensuring the website’s security. They do so by protecting the website against code injections, XSS, SQLi, and bad bots, among other severe attacks targeting a website. One of the most famous security plugins is the Astra, which has, over the years, been used across the globe to prevent malicious requests from accessing various e-business websites.

IX. Backing up the business data

Over the years, cases of data loss resulting from cyberattacks and hardware malfunctions have been common among e-businesses. In case of such events, if the business does not have back up data, it may lead to unprecedented financial loss. With that in mind, it is recommendable to employ automatic backup service as a contingency plan for backing up data.

X. Training the staff on cybersecurity

It is recommendable to train the staff members on laws and policies relating to cybersecurity. Such as strategy plays a vital role in minimizing cybercrime issues significantly.

XII. Investing in a reliable e-commerce platform

A stable eCommerce platform is characterized by features such as regular auto-updates on its state of the art security. Such a platform is essential in protecting the business against common threats over time.

 XII. Enlightening customer of cybersecurity

It is recommendable to train the customers on laws and policies relating to cybersecurity. This facilitates the clients to apply various techniques crucial in protecting their data from being accessed by hackers. Such as strategy play a vital role in minimizing cybercrime issues significantly.