Negosentro.com | Online Security Tips E-commerce Business Owners Need to Know | E-commerce business owners have the daunting task of managing security for two different groups: their employees and their customers. When your business has to manage payment information and user accounts on the front end, plus employee credentials and network security behind the scenes, the amount of information you’re responsible for securing can quickly spiral out of control. Ahead, learn how to stay ahead of cybersecurity threats and keep both your employees and customers safe online.
Change How You Think About User Accounts
A 2019 study on data breaches by Verizon found that compromised passwords accounted for over 80% of security breaches that year. Unfortunately, password leaks are now as ubiquitous as passwords themselves. Worse yet, many information technology specialists struggle to get users to employ best practices for generating and updating passwords. Both your customers and your employees are likely to find password requirements cumbersome and frustrating – at least, until one of their passwords is leaked in a data breach. Reused passwords allow hackers to gain access to any of a user’s accounts secured with an identical password.
The insurmountable vulnerability of passwords has led many online businesses to invest in a multi factor authentication solution that eliminates passwords altogether. Multi factor authentications require users to provide at least two of three identity-confirming credentials. Credentials include information a user can know, like a password or one-time access code; access to a certain device, like a mobile phone; and an inherent biometric characteristic, like a fingerprint or facial scan.
While many users are accustomed to multi factor authentication tools that use a password, it’s possible to create login solutions without them. Customers and employees alike appreciate the simplicity of passwordless access protocols. They increase security in-house by eliminating the need to micromanage employees’ password creation habits, and they provide a competitive edge with customers who may find themselves gravitating to your website more often simply because it’s easier to use.
Keep Your Website Transactions Secure
Customers won’t share payment details with you if they don’t feel it’s safe to do so, and losing control over customer financial information can do serious damage to your company’s reputation – and your bottom line. Avoid these problems by adhering to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, the industry standard for payment security. PCI compliance is essential for protecting your business from financial liabilities that can arise after a customer data breach. If you’re unsure of your compliance status, contact your payment processing adviser for assistance.
PCI standards are important, but you should pair them with other protections, like secured HTTP. If your business is maintaining a legacy website that’s still using unsecured HTTP, make it a priority to upgrade promptly. Secure HTTP is faster, safer and increases your website’s search engine ranking. This is particularly pressing for e-commerce websites with credit card and login fields, as Google uses a full-page, in-browser warning to inform potential customers who are trying to visit your page that your website is unsafe. Using secure HTTP is a simple way to keep your online reputation positive.
Safeguard Your Network and Your Website
Online businesses handle large quantities of sensitive personal data like banking information and mailing addresses on top of their own proprietary digital assets. A critical part of keeping that data safe is committing to good network safety practices that automate security and protect against human error. Well-meaning employees, even if they’ve been trained in cybersecurity threat management, may open malware-ridden email attachments in a moment of inattention. With the right security tools active, you can worry less about the consequences of mistakes like these.
The real-time monitoring that most antivirus software packages now offer scans not only your employees’ computers, but also email attachments, files and webpages as they browse. Choose a reputable antivirus provider and keep your software up to date so it can flag new threats as they appear. To ensure that your network stays safe, not just your hardware, complement antivirus protection with automated vulnerability scanning tools, which examine both applications and networks for potential weak points and index vulnerabilities that your IT department should address.
Finally, set up dynamic application security testing software, which mimics potential intrusion scenarios to subject your customer-facing web applications to the ultimate stress test. If your company manages large amounts of any kind of secure data, particularly through a web portal, this type of testing is an essential step in monitoring your security status.
It may feel frustrating to have to manage information security on top of everything else you need to do to keep your business profitable and growing, especially if you don’t work in the tech industry. However, customers value both data security and digital privacy more than ever, and good cybersecurity practices will both keep your in-office network secure and make you a market leader in providing a safe user experience for your customers.
