Keys To Protect Your Ecommerce From Hackers

New reports of a major data breach—this time affecting an estimated 1.2 billion usernames and passwords and 500 million emails—is yet another wake-up call that Ecommerce can’t take their data security too lightly

You cannot go a day without hearing that someone or some group is hacking a website or stealing credit card and other sensitive data from ecommerce sites.

Credit Card Theft/Fraud – Is a Big Risk Associated with E-Commerce

Over the years, the methods used by ecommerce sites to process and store credit card information has become much more sophisticated. This progress has helped online shopping overcome one of its greatest obstacles, consumer trust. As evidenced by the amount of money spent online each year, people feel much more secure in shopping online than they ever have. Unfortunately for businesses, cyber criminals trying to steal customer’s information have developed methods that make it easier than ever for them to compromise a web application.

In order to steal credit card information, sophisticated cyber criminals use bot nets to launch coordinated attacks against unsuspecting web sites, specially sites that are vulnerable to attacks. Read more about credit card fraud prevention

How Hackers Take Advantage of Website Security Loop Holes
  • They can use your server for mass mailing and thus blacklist your server. That may lead to your email marketing program failing miserably.
  • They can use your hosting for storage. Consuming your server’s resources & bandwidth. This may lead to slow sites and bad user experience.
  • They can misuse your server/domain for illegal/offensive activities & spreading malicious codes.

 

Hacking impacts ecommerce in the following ways
  • Interrupts Business Process
  • Loss Of Revenue
  • Loss Of Brand Value And Customer Trust
  • Spoils Other Search Engine Results
So how do you protect your ecommerce site from being hacked and sensitive customer data from being stolen?

To protect (and reassure) your customers, it’s imperative to know how to protect your ecommerce and your sensitive customer data. Ecommerce and security experts at CIO.com share 10 tips on how you can prevent fraud and keep your site safe.

Tip#1 – Use a secure connection for online checkout — and make sure you are PCI compliant

Tip#2 –  Don’t store sensitive data

Tip#3 – Employ an address and card verification system — Enable an address verification system (AVS) and ensure that the user should fill in the card verification value (CVV) for secure credit card transactions and to reduce fraudulent charges

Tip#4 – Encourage your customer & Employees to keep strong passwords

Tip#5 – Set up system alerts for suspicious activity — Set up system alerts for “multiple orders placed by the same person using different credit cards, phone numbers that are from markedly different areas than the billing address and orders where the recipient name is different than the card holder name.”

Tip#6 – Layer your security — Add extra layers of security to the website and applications such as contact forms, login boxes and search queries.

Tip#7 – Use tracking numbers for all orders — To combat chargeback fraud, have tracking numbers for every order you send out

Tip#8 – Monitor your site stats regularly — “Always have a real-time analytics tool” — It’s the real-world equivalent of installing security cameras in your shop.

Tip#9 – Make sure you have a DDoS protection and mitigation service.  — Ecommerce sites should turn to cloud-based DDoS protection and managed DNS services to provide transactional capacity to handle proactive mitigation

Tip#10 – Keep a Backup Upto Date & Ready – Make sure you or whoever is hosting your site is backing it up — and has a disaster recovery plan.

To-dos for secure ecommerce – Table of Abstract
Should DoMust DoRecommend to Do
  • Use a secure connection for online checkout
  • Require strong passwords.
  • Use tracking numbers for all orders
  • Monitor your site regularly — and make sure whoever is hosting it is, too.
  • Make sure you have a DDoS protection and mitigation service.
  • Educate Your Employees
  • Don’t store sensitive data.
  • Back up your Data regularly
  • Set up system alerts for suspicious activity.
  • Layer your security
  • Use Firewall Security
  • Make sure you or whoever is hosting your site is backing it up — and has a disaster recovery plan.
  • Don’t host multiple sites with your main E-Commerce application.
  • Keep your system and related technology up-to date
  • Consider security alerts issued by card brands and implement updates to combat emerging threats.
  • Keep an additional firewall between the application server and the database server to minimize the risk from the online web server.
  • Pen Test
Top 2 tools for website security monitoring and malware removal are

Sitelock.com & Scuri.net click here to see comparison

You can also review & subscribe other available options

 

 

BOTTOM LINE : THE QUESTION IS NOT IF YOU WILL BE ATTACKED OR NOT, BUT WHEN AND HOW YOU WILL DEAL WITH IT