Cyber crimes have been on the rise over recent years. With more businesses growing and exploiting the online space and no signs of stopping soon, there are many security threats involved, and online stores must protect themselves.
Regardless of your e-Commerce store size, every store is prone to security threats, which, when not taken care of, can lead to:
- Disruption and increased cost of operation
- Reputation damage
- Loss of revenue
Understanding the security threats your e-commerce business is prone to is essential. It helps you figure out the best security measures. Let me walk you through the most common threats an e-commerce store is prone to and the measures that should be implemented to avoid them.
1. SQL Injections
A Structured Query Language cyberattack results from inserting malicious code into servers that use SQL. The attackers access your database by targeting your submission form. When successful, the server releases information. It’s regarded as the most common cyberattack in the e-commerce business today.
These attacks involve injecting malicious SQL commands into existing scripts that your website needs to operate to gain access. The problem can be as simple as entering malicious code into a vulnerable website search box. Once successful, they change how your site reads data and allow them to execute commands that can read, delete, add, or collect data.
It is always advisable to scan your website to block hackers and keep your online activities private. You can use free site scanners such as Qualys FreeScan or Grabber.
2. Phishing Attacks
Phishing is one of the most common way hackers take over e-commerce websites. Many business owners don’t know how much phishing poses a risk to their e-commerce sites.
This method involves a hacker sending deceptive emails masquerading as someone or an organization you know to get you to reveal your login details. The emails contain a fake copy of your legitimate website or anything that lures the customer into believing the message is from the business.
The messages contain a direct link that lands the user on a fake page where the cyber criminals ask the user to enter their login information. They record the login details, which they use to access personal information, such as bank account details.
For example, a hacker can create a fake phishing page that looks like your e-commerce or payment processor login page and send a message that something is wrong and you need to log in to fix it. Without knowing, you log in, and they note your details and use them to execute crimes on the actual website.
According to data from statistica, 76% of businesses have reported being a victim of phishing in recent years. E-commerce businesses are the most targeted as more businesses move online.
To minimize this type of attack:
- Monitor your email and website data for suspicious attachments, poor formatting, phony email addresses, and bland email greetings
- Use secure web browsers such as Brave and Firefox Quantum, which come with built privacy features and security features
- Encrypt all sensitive company information between your website and customers’ computer
3. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks
A distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) is where a hacker uses multiple computers to flood your server with fake traffic from untraceable IP addresses, causing it to crash or become unavailable to site visitors.
Many people are unfamiliar with this kind of attack and don’t know how damaging it can be. When it happens, it causes loss to e-commerce stores. Even the biggest e-commerce stores such as Etsy, Shopify, and PayPal have fallen victim and suffered downtimes because of these attacks.
Several other techniques may launch other attacks during the downtime period. Millions of systems can be infected with malware and controlled by a hacker in a DDoS attack known as Botnets, which are in different geographic locations, making them hard to trace.
Here are some ways DDoS attacks may affect your eCommerce website:
- They overload your site with traffic, paralyzing it. This makes your site go offline.
- They make your site slow for users, thus affecting your conversion rates and revenue negatively
- They slow down your server, making it hard to make operations in the back end
Here are some ideas on how to protect yourself from DDoS attacks:
- Use a website application firewall to protect yourself from bad traffic and make it hard for DDoS attacks to have an impact
- If you notice a lot of traffic coming from a particular foreign company, enable geographical blocking
- Change the server IP address or inform your ISP to take the measures to protect you
- Implement a rare limiting feature to prevent your website from malicious requests
4. Man in The Middle Attack (MITM)
A hacker may listen to a conversation between a user and an e-commerce store.
This attack occurs when a hacker inserts themselves in a two-party transaction. They eavesdrop on communication between a store and its client and steal confidential information such as usernames, credit card information, and passwords.
MITM attacks mostly happen when a visitor uses an unsecured public Wi-Fi network.
For example, SSL stripping occurs when attackers establish an HTTPS connection between themselves and the victim but use an insecure HTTP connection with the victim, leaving the information in plain text.
To prevent yourself from this kind of attack, ensure the sites you visit are secure. Encrypt traffic between the network and browser using browsing encryption software that prevents man-in-the-middle attacks.
5. Malware
Malware steals data or sends spam through your domain or to reach other areas of your data using remote access software. The malicious programs include spyware, Trojans, viruses, and ransomware.
The hackers target key persons on e-commerce websites who have advanced access to the site or the server hosting the site.
They install the malicious software on your device without your knowledge. They activate the malware when you click malicious links or attachments. Once activated, the malware can:
- Install additional harmful software
- Block access to network key components
- Disrupt individual parts, making the system inoperable
- Transmit data illegally from the hard drive
The hacker may execute commands as if you were the one doing them, get data on your system, or hijack some of your traffic. This could lead to a loss of revenue for your site and critical security reviews. Google may also remove the website from the search engine results page.
Online sellers should, therefore, take relevant security measures, such as regularly backing up their websites, checking third-party applications for security checks, and cleaning up the codes and malicious insertions.
5 Ways to Combat E-commerce Security Threats
1. Secure Your Website With an SSL Certificate
Using an SSL certificate is one of the most important ways to protect yourself as an e-commerce business. A properly installed SSL certificate encrypts all information users send to your website, making it impossible to eavesdrop on it or make meaningful use of it.
Users trust e-commerce websites that use SSL certificates. Besides the certificates protecting sensitive user data submitted to your website, they also increase traffic as Google ranks them better and boosts conversion.
Most modern browsers display a warning message before accessing an insecure website. Not only that, but most browsers block you from accessing the site.
2. Encryption (secure server and admin panel)
Every website should have at least one level of encryption in place. No matter the level you are at, whether you’re a small or big E-commerce business, you’re prone to attacks.
Encrypt all the data so there will be little or no impact in case of a data breach.
When you encrypt your e-commerce server, you convert data from text to “cipher text,” which needs to be decrypted to make sense. Properly encrypted data is very hard to decrypt, and very few people can do it.
Secure your server and admin panel with complex passwords and usernames and change them frequently. This minimizes the chances of a data breach. You can also go further by setting the control panel to notify you when an unknown IP address tries to access your site.
3. Secure Payment Gateway
It’s very important to ensure your payment gateway is strictly secured since payment is a core component of your e-commerce business.
Many e-commerce stores become credit and debit card fraud victims because of the use of insecure payment gateways. You should never store credit and debit card details on your website to avoid theft by hackers. It can cost your business heavy fines if such data lands in the wrong hands. To ensure this doesn’t happen, using a secure payment gateway is very important. Most online stores integrate many popular payment gates like Wise, PayPal, Skrill, and Stripe, among others.
4. Implement Firewalls
Firewalls are network security systems that monitor incoming and outgoing traffic based on security parameters you’ve set as a store owner.
The firewall’s barriers analyze traffic to your server. It determines which traffic is legitimate and which isn’t and allows only the legitimate traffic to access your site.
A properly configured firewall will protect your website from many DDoS attacks. They also protect your site from SQL injections and cross-site scripting.
5. Use Antivirus Protection Software
Any employee accessing a sensitive area of your e-commerce website should use reliable antivirus software. It protects your computer and those accessing your e-commerce backend.
A good antivirus will always notify and alert you of any malicious virus before it is installed in your computer. It will also notify you if you are about to access a harmful site or when you receive a malicious link in a spam email.
Over to You Now
Any website can be a hacker’s target. Taking the precautions we recommend will enhance your business’s security. It marks your e-commerce website as secure, reducing the number of hacker attacks and regaining customer loyalty.