10 can’t-miss tips to boost e commerce security in 2019!
In your first month of running an e commerce site alone, you can make a thousand dollars (if not more). From there, the profits will only grow — as long as you have the right approach.
The right approach to e commerce includes many things, but most importantly, you’ll need e commerce security. Without security, the profits you make are never safe, as you might need to spend a lot to rectify a security breach.
Wondering how to increase your e commerce security? I’ve put together the latest security tips to help you protect your store. Keep reading for my cutting edge e commerce security tips!
1. Stay Up to Date
One of the best ways to keep your online store secure is to always update your software, plugins, and more.
If you don’t update quickly enough, you’re opening up to potential security breaches. Make sure to always back up your e commerce site before doing a big update, just in case something goes wrong.
Plugins are often a source of vulnerability, so update them as often as you can. Don’t forget to check your code for possible sources of vulnerability, too. An experienced back-end web developer can help you with this process.
2. Watch Out for Phishing
Phishing attacks don’t just target individuals — they can also target businesses, including e commerce sites.
In phishing, you’ll get what looks like a legitimate communication asking you to enter certain information. However, it’s a criminal masquerading as an organization you recognize. Once they have your information, they’ll use it against you.
For example, a phishing scam might pretend to be a service you use, like PayPal, and ask for your bank account information. That information then gives them the ability to steal from you.
Learn the signs of phishing scams so you’ll know what to watch out for. Educate your customers or employees on phishing scams as needed, too.
3. Don’t Save Sensitive Data
Are you storing data that you don’t really need? Any data you store is at risk of getting compromised. While there are some sensitive things you need to keep, make sure to erase any unnecessary data as often as possible. The less you save, the better.
4. Encourage Password Security
Your customers might not know what a secure password looks like. When they set up an account, you have a great opportunity to help them by offering advice on password security and more.
You can require certain elements in a password before it will be accepted by your system, such as a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Or you can use a “traffic light” method to show customers if the password they’ve chosen is weak, acceptable, or strong.
5. Avoid Bot Attacks
Malicious bots can create a huge threat to your site. There are quite a few different ways they can be used, and all of them are harmful to your site.
Bots might be used to find out what your prices are, so the competition can undercut you. They can also be used to steal your customers’ login credentials, and much more. You’ll want to put security measures in place to protect against these attacks, and teach your employees how to recognize an attempted (or successful) attack.
6. Request Card Verification
To cut down on fraud, make sure to request card verification every time someone makes a purchase. The small extra step is well worth the added security, and customers won’t mind it since it’s an easy step to complete.
7. Stay Educated
The best security software won’t protect you if you don’t understand how it works, and what you’re protecting your site against.
Educate yourself on the most common security threats, and how the protection measures you use work. This post is a good place to start, but there’s much more to learn. Even the best software won’t work one hundred percent of the time. The more you know, the more you can stay in control.
8. Monitor Site Activities
Similarly, you always need to know what’s going on with your site so you can see what’s normal and what might be a red flag.
Check regular transactions, so when something inconsistent pops up, you’ll notice it right away. If you see a purchase or other activity that seems suspicious, investigate it right away. If you’re not in the habit of monitoring activities, you might not catch problems until it’s too late.
9. Control Employee Access
Not all of your employees need to be able to access sensitive information, such as customer payment info. Control access by only making information available to the customers who really need it. This will also help you catch issues faster as you monitor the system.
If there’s a short list of who can access certain information, you’ll quickly be able to tell when someone who’s not authorized tries to get in. Discover more here about upgrading your security policies and much more.
10. Create System Alerts
No matter how diligent you are, you can’t possibly monitor your site all the time. Make sure there’s an automated alert system to let you know about suspicious activity, even when you’re not actively looking for it.
For example, you can set alerts that let you know if the customer’s recipient name doesn’t match the name on the credit card. As you learn what kinds of activities are suspicious, set an alert for each one so you’ll never miss a possible threat.
Implement E Commerce Security Today
These e commerce security measures can’t afford to wait. A serious security breach can be incredibly costly, and may even put you out of business. While you can’t keep every single threat at bay, you can implement security that will contain every threat or attack before it does much damage.
Interested in learning more about why security matters for your business? Don’t miss this post.
