6 Security Measures to Implement in eCommerce Store

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March 18, 2021 Business

According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations report released in 2018, 58% of cyberattack victims were small businesses. Yes, no one is now safe from cyber threats! You are equally at risk (if not even at higher risk) as an owner of a small eCommerce business. The problem has been compounded by the fact that eCommerce is growing tremendously, with research showing that many people now prefer shopping online to physical shopping.

As a business owner, you should know that customers are also growing concerned about their online privacy and the security of the data they share with your store. It would help if you worked to boost the security of your business and consumer data to win their trust. Let us look into some security measures to consider for eCommerce websites.

Use a trusted eCommerce platform

For starters, build up your eCommerce security using a secure Software-as-Service platform. Of course, you will look into many features as you pick the right platform to build the store. However, the top of it should be the security features of the eCommerce platform. The best eCommerce platform should have inbuilt security features and plugins to help you secure your store.

For example, they should offer encryption options for online payments such as credit card and money transfer methods. Again, it is essential to keep customer and business data protected to avoid costly breaches.

The beauty is that you have many free and paid options as you shop for a secure eCommerce platform. Some of the biggest ones are BigCommerce, Shopify, and WooCommerce, Magento, etc.

Get an SSL Certificate for your site

A Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate is crucial in ensuring that your website visitors’ data is transferred over a secure channel. Your customers want to know that their names, email addresses, credit card numbers, telephone numbers, and other details shared with your business through your site are secure. This is where an SSL certificate comes in to deliver that to the users. You can install it on your eCommerce server to secure the critical information on transit. There are three main types of SSL certificates in the market, including Organization Validation (OV), Extended Validation (EV) & Domain Validated (DV) SSL.

You can go for an EV SSL certificate for extra security and visual cues that will assure your customers of trust levels as they shop. An SSL secured store will display a security padlock in the browser’s address bar. To your visitors, the padlock will indicate that your site is secure and will confirm to your site’ visitors that you take their privacy seriously.

It is worth noting that when the SSL certificate is missing, your site is likely to be labelled unsafe by some browsers, and that might turn away potential customers. That is why you must Buy SSL and secure your shop!

Don’t store sensitive user data

Remember, whenever a customer logs in to your site, you are responsible for the details they share with you. In case of any data breach, you could be easily sued and face costly fines. You are also bound to lose the customer’s trust. Still, there is always that temptation to capture customer details to improve services, but it could come back to bite you!

It would be best if you were wary of risks like website hacking, phishing, and many other possible cyberattacks that could leave your business at risk.

It is thus crucial to collect data that will only allow you to complete the transactions. For example, avoid collecting sensitive data like credit card information and storing it on your business infrastructure. You can use third-party payment processing to avert these types of risks.

Employ your website monitor

Monitoring your eCommerce website is crucial in ensuring top performance. It is also necessary to discover any glitches that could lead to inconveniences on the part of the customers. If your online store has been hosted on a reliable eCommerce platform, you will likely access tools for monitoring your site’s activity as part of the package. That said, it is crucial to take into account the need for personal monitoring. The monitoring tools will enable you to determine your site’s security and detect any attempted breaches to respond immediately. You will also monitor other aspects such as the conversion rate, your site’s speed, and functionality, among others. Monitoring will help you take action timely and improve the user experience, making your business even more attractive to customers.

Trademark your company name and logo

Part of your business identity includes the name and the logo you use. It distinguishes your business from others, including those trading in the same goods and services. When you trademark your name and logo, it means that you will protect your online store from identity theft.

Usually, some cybercriminals impersonate store owners or online stores to defraud unsuspecting site visitors. Thus, you should ensure that you are the only one who uses your name and logo for the business to prevent fraudulent activities that could negatively affect your business’s reputation.

Keep your site updated

Technology will always get more sophisticated with time. Think of it this way; cybercriminals constantly learn and hunt for new tricks to access online stores by day. That is why you need to ensure that your security features are up to date. One way to do so is by regularly updating your site’s features, including the eCommerce platform you are using.

You should also upgrade security features to ensure that any common security loopholes are sealed. Updating software also means that you have added a security wall to keep off the cybercriminals. Again, most cybercriminals can exploit vulnerabilities of the site to compromise your data.

Tip: It is also wise to back up your data. Remember that every step you take still leaves a level of risk however much you implement best practices. Backups will ensure you get back up and running faster should any breach happen.

Wrapping up

As an eCommerce business owner, you must protect your business from cyberattacks to grow your venture. We cannot reiterate this enough; cyberattacks have increased tremendously in the past few years, and it is bound to get even worse. Cybercriminals will keep devising sophisticated means breaching security in online stores. The bottom line is that you should take charge and stay ahead of these risks.