With Best E-commerce Store businesses multiplying in size, so are the possible threats that can harm both your store and customers. No matter the size, any digital commerce company is a jackpot of personal and financial data. For every solution, hackers and criminals are soon to develop another way that could irreparably damage your company and its reputation.
Today, securing your business is not just about protecting your company but the information your customers have entrusted to your company as well. It is vital to stay one step ahead of these threats by getting an idea of the most common methods of cyber-attacks and adequately prepare your Best E-commerce Store for what may be to come.
The Biggest Threats to Your Digital Store
- Phishing
One of the most common methods of attacking your eCommerce business is through a social engineering method referred to as phishing. If you have ever received a suspicious email from a prince in Nigeria, or winnings for a contest you never entered in, you have been exposed to a phishing attempt.
Often a warning or something that sounds time-sensitive, phishing emails and pop-up ads imitate a person or business and gain access to personal information through unsafe links or manipulation. While most are obvious fakes, some higher quality attempts mimic the design or verbiage of a particular organization to the point where it can look undesignable from the real thing outside of the more minor details.
A good way to avoid scams like this is to remember that companies will likely never ask for your information (CVV code, account number, SSN, etc.) in such an upfront manner. As a business owner, it is also a great move to specify in your emails or account pages that you would never send out such requests to help educate your consumer base to avoid accidents like this.
- Malware and Ransomware
While phishing is often used for taking your personal information, it can also be an easy method to spread malware to your computer devices or website. Much like a biological virus, malware often sneaks into your system through sketchy links or downloaded files, unearthing itself once opened to cause chaos.
Once installed on your device or inserted into your web page, the malware can a variety of attacks on your E-commerce website or device, stealing your and your customer’s data or redirecting your store to separate web pages that can further trick customers into revealing payment methods or passwords.
One of the more threatening variants of malicious software, ransomware, can even lock down your device or data, demanding payment for it to be accessed again.
For consumers, it is vital to have malware protection installed to scan your device regularly, but on the business side, having a firewall to dissuade any hackers from attempting harm to your store.
- E-skimming
While malware and phishing are more evident in their attempts at theft, e-skimming can often be the most harmful due to its hard to detect nature. Much like malware, an attacker gains access to your web store through a phishing attempt, but from there, it hangs out on your website, discreetly capturing the payment and security information you and your customers’ input.
Because of its quiet nature, e-skimming can often go unnoticed for weeks and be very difficult to find by security professionals or programmers. With Best E-commerce Store becoming a wildly popular choice over the last year, this particular attack is becoming more widespread. Thus, it is crucial for customers and business owners to pay attention to their card and bank accounts and use low-limit cards when shopping.
How Can You Protect Yourself
While the best way to avoid cyber-attacks on your business is to hire an IT security professional, there are many easy ways for you to keep your website and customers safe.
For starters, strong and smart use of passwords for both you and your customers can quickly shut down hackers before they even are a threat. Weak or repeated passwords can make it a cakewalk for potential attackers to gain access to loads of personal information across many websites, so adding in symbols, numbers, and capital letters can make a surprising amount of difference.
Adding various authentication systems to your website can also be helpful to avoid phishing attempts. Requiring a code through email or text message to prove one’s identity adds an extra layer of safety to ensure that data and information stay secure.
Finally, purging customer data regularly can also minimize any damage that could occur in the event of a cyberattack on your business. While it may be convenient to keep this information to help analyze your performance, it would be devastating for everyone if years’ worth of data leaked out, so why not keep only what you need?
Turn to Katalyst for Your Security Consulting
While the above tips may help you out in the short term, it is wise to get a great team of IT security professionals to help your eCommerce business in the long run. At Katalyst, we offer IT staffing and consulting services that can help you keep your store secure, as well as set up and monitor your operations across the Best E-commerce Store platforms like BigCommerce and Shopify.
If you have any questions or wish to learn more, contact us today!
