8 cybersecurity lessons for online stores

Where money is involved, criminals appear quickly. The online shopping market is one of the main targets for cybercrime, especially during the shopping season.

Keeping customer data safe and protecting your site from malicious attacks should be among the priorities of the business strategy for these dates of high demand, since it has become very common to hear about hacks and theft of sensitive information on store platforms. online.

What are the main security measures an eCommerce site should implement to protect customers and their data from hackers during the shopping season?

1. Use a secure online shopping connection

The secure ports layer (SSL, for its acronym in English) certifies and authenticates the identity of your business, in addition to encrypting the navigation data. This technology protects credit cards and other important information throughout the site, from the e-commerce application to the payment process provided by third parties. Extended Validation (EV) certification adds a green bar to the page address to visually indicate to users that it is safe and legitimate.

Having the logo of a trusted SSL provider indicates to consumers that the necessary security measures have been taken to keep their data safe.

2. Implement a system to detect suspicious activity

 Set alarms to locate unusual movements such as multiple transactions from the same IP or different orders from the same person with different credit cards or phone numbers. It is necessary to verify that the name of the buyer matches the financial data of the payment to avoid unwanted transactions.

3. Do not store sensitive data

 Allowing users to store their credit card information can make the shopping experience faster, easier, and more convenient. However, companies should never save all the data necessary to complete a transaction such as the expiration date or the verification code (CVV). E-commerce platforms must purge old information and retain what is useful for returns and refunds.

4. Ensure the security of your site

 This starts with the eCommerce app. When choosing a platform to implement your online store, you must ensure that the administration panel remains out of the reach of cybercriminals and stay abreast of new security versions. When the latest updates are available, it is best to install them immediately on the same day. One or multiple firewalls are an essential part of preventing hackers from entering the network, where they can find sensitive information.

5. Regularly monitor your site and make sure your hosting provider does too 

Having a real-time analysis tool is the equivalent of installing security cameras in your business. This mechanism allows you to know the behavior of visitors and detect fraudulent or malicious activities. It is recommended to carry out minimal scans daily, while in strong seasons it is better to increase the frequency of this task.

6.Protection against DDoS attacks 

Denial-of-service (DDos) cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and frequent. An e-commerce site must have protection capable of proactively mitigating damage. Implementing this type of security will avoid an additional investment in equipment, infrastructure and specialized personnel.

7. Recovery plan

You can’t recover data that you haven’t saved, but the good news is that the cost of storing data has dropped dramatically in recent years. Information on different servers can be combined on a single storage device to benefit from recovery and restoration solutions. Make sure your hosting provider has a cyber disaster recovery plan.

8. Prepare employees and test site security 

Employees must know that it is not acceptable to share sensitive information or personal data of customers in chats or other insecure means of communication. It is also important that they are aware of the types of scams and fraud that are rampant online.

Finally, Rackspace experts recommend performing a vulnerability check through ethical hacking, which allows finding flaws in the application, code or architecture to anticipate possible cyber attacks.