ecommerce

Improving the security of your eCommerce store is something you should never play with. As an eCommerce store, you have a huge responsibility for your customers and eCommerce merchants. One of the major drawbacks why many people don’t like to shop online is to avoid losing their information to hackers.

By Chad Rubin

Taking a look at some of the things that has happened in the past, starting from small scale eCommerce start-ups to multinational brands like Yahoo, each of them has at one point or the other exposed their customer security unknowingly at risk.  Thus, you can protect and improve the security of your eCommerce store in these 9 ways:

Arm yourself with security plug-ins

Plug-ins remains something eCommerce merchants can take advantage of. Having plug-ins in your eCommerce site and keeping them updated, will give you a comprehensive view of what is happening in your site, exposes any form of potential hacking attempts, and save your site from getting hacked.

Plug-ins serves as an extra wall of security. Keep in mind that there are so many plug-ins out there, and if they are not updated consistently, hackers can easily have access to your site.

Pick & choose a safe and reliable eCommerce platform

Most eCommerce shops are run in a safe and reliable platform like shopify and magento, and security is the main reason why this is done. When searching for merchants to consider, merchants derive pleasure in looking for secure, convenient platforms with a robust functionality.

Keep in mind that updating your security doesn’t mean you are fully protected at all times. If you are using a popular platform, you will be drawing a lot of attention from hackers, and if you don’t prioritize your personal security and customers, you will end up exposing both your store and all the information of your customers and this will be a big threat to your growing online business.

Set up security alerts

This will defend you against all forms of unexpected behaviors. Try as much as possible to implement this on various layers of architecture. Monitor the activities going on in your eCommerce site, and see if there are customers using multiple credit cards from one account.

Using network layer will alert you if there are suspicious activities trying to occur. It will alert you if there is a sudden surge in traffic. A sudden surge in traffic is not good for your business; it could be that some hackers are trying to take advantage of your site, and you need to verify it.

Also, multiple password change in quick succession is a sign that something terrible is about to happen to your online store if care is not taken.

Integrate secure and trusted payment gateways

Because of the number of eCommerce stores available, there are now several gateway choices available for you. The presence of multiple gateways can assist you in covering series of payment methods. Customers will be happy buying from you if you have series of gateways.

Make sure your gateway supports basics such as card verification value code and adhere strictly to PCI compliance rules. If it doesn’t support this, then hackers can easily submit stolen credit card numbers to your eCommerce site, but a trusted gateway will protect your eCommerce business.

Track orders to avoid scams

Despite the progress in technology today, many hackers are still engaging in credit card scams. This can be avoided by installing an efficient tracking system, which will help you to avoid scams like chargeback frauds, receives or track merchandise you ship, and block any false claim of order. If you don’t have an efficient system on ground, it would be difficult to fight these criminals from hacking your business.

Perform regular risk assessment and testing

You should have a credible change management that will keep track of what is happening in your business, assess new risks, and proffer solutions as well as testing them before any attack will occur. It is better to prevent this from happening, than an attempt to cure it when it happens.

Perform regular PCI Scams and patch updates

Always do a consistent PCI scams so that you can monitor any attempt to hack your site. More so, try as much as you can to run the most current versions. One of the reasons why many eCommerce stores have been breached is due to lack of installing the right security patches or apps. The beauty of this is that it will save you and your business great stress in future.

Don’t store sensitive data

Do not keep sensitive customer information such as payment card information, personal or corporate addresses or expiration dates, card verification value codes on your eCommerce store longer than necessary. Instead you can keep a minimal amount of data that are required for refunds and chargeback’s if needed.

Help your customers protect themselves

It is your responsibility to assist your customers in protecting themselves, thus it is important to encrypt the data, authenticate your business by using SSL certificates. This will go a long way in protecting your site and your customers from getting their personal or financial information stolen.

Chad Rubin (Ecommerce Renegade) builds e-commerce businesses. Fresh out of college and Wall Street, he took his family vacuum business online and built his own direct to consumer e-commerce business called Crucial Vacuum. He grew it from 0 a $20 million dollar valuation in just 7 years. He happens to be a top 250 Amazon seller. He co-founded Skubana with DJ Kunovac and built one of e-commerce’s hottest operational softwares.

Ecommerce security stock photo By William Potter/Shutterstock