Data is the digital world’s hot commodity, and your e-commerce store collects a lot of it.
Key Takeaways
- Install an SSL certificate to encrypt data between your store and customers, improve search rankings, and build trust with the padlock icon in browsers.
- Use multi-layer security including firewalls, anti-malware, and regular security audits to protect against SQL injections and other cyber threats.
- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) and strong password policies to prevent unauthorized access to user accounts.
- Keep your website software, plugins, and themes updated regularly to patch security vulnerabilities.
- Perform regular backups of your site data and store them securely to ensure quick recovery if security incidents occur.
- Comply with PCI-DSS standards when handling payment data and use trusted payment processors to protect customer financial information.
- Limit access to sensitive data by implementing proper user roles and permissions for your team members.
Successful stores have stewardship over sensitive data entrusted to them by potentially thousands of customers. Cybercriminals are aware of this and are keen to exploit stores with inadequate precautions to steal and profit from them.
In this article, we outline the key practices you should be following to protect your e-commerce store, foster trust, and keep sensitive data safe.
Obtain an SSL Certificate
Augmenting your site with the SSL protocol is the foundation on which all other precautions rest. SSL secures the connection between your e-commerce store and customers’ browsers, ensuring that any data exchanged between them remains private and inaccessible.
SSL is also a prerequisite for the safer and now standard HTTPS transfer protocol most websites use. If that wasn’t compelling enough, keep in mind that search engines prioritize websites with valid SSL certification. That translates to increased trust and more favorable search results. You can obtain the certificate either through a Certificate Authority or from your hosting provider.
Control Traffic through a Web Application Firewall
A successful digital storefront attracts attention, and not all of it is good. Attackers might try to infect it with malware, brute-force access with bots, or disrupt operations by launching a DDoS attack. Luckily, a Web Application Firewall greatly reduces the risk.
The WAF stands between your website and incoming connections, identifying and stopping threats like malicious code injection targeting your SQU databases or JavaScript front-end. WAFs also support CAPTCHAs, preventing bots from trying infinite username and password combinations to access the site. Lastly, traffic throttling and load balancing help relieve the pressure of ongoing DDoS attacks, allowing the site to function normally or recover more quickly.
Maximize API Security
E-commerce stores rely more heavily on APIs than most other websites. Store-specific APIs handle product management, customer data handling, orders, and checkout. Third-party APIs process payments and shipping, provide chatbot integration, integrate with CRMs, etc.
Implement API authorization and authentication through API keys and set up API gateways for improved monitoring and encryption. Ensure all APIs align with data privacy laws like the GDPR and CCPA. Additionally, payment gateways must comply with PCI DSS standards for secure processing. That compliance is doubly beneficial since it means you don’t have to store sensitive payment information in your own databases.
Protect Access to the Website & Related Accounts
While safety measures that target the website’s infrastructure are essential, attackers can easily bypass them if they manage to obtain your login credentials.
Some succeed by tricking website owners into revealing their credentials through phishing emails that pose as coming from their hosting service, CMS, or other trusted sources. Alternatively, they may obtain leaked or stolen passwords through data breaches on other sites and try them on yours, hoping you use weak and duplicate credentials.
Change the login page’s default location to make it harder to reach. Replace admin with a different username. Most importantly, make sure you’re using a strong, unique password. It’s best to have a password manager handle this since they have several security features.
Generating one-of-a-kind passwords and storing them in encrypted vaults is a core feature. However, a password manager can also grant temporary access when you need others to work on your store. Password managers sync across devices, allowing for easier access on the go. Finally, you can use them to protect website access and any other accounts with two-factor authentication.
Regularly Update Everything
By everything, we mean not just your CMS but all the themes and plugins you’re using. Plugins are particularly susceptible to code injection and can be misused to expose millions of customer data points. Apply updates as soon as they’re available, only download trusted plugins & themes, and drop those that stop receiving support.
Ensure Secure Remote Access
Your office or home setup might be secure enough to access the site without worry, but the same isn’t true for networks like public Wi-Fi. Man-in-the-middle attacks executed through such networks can bypass other precautions, exposing login details and other sensitive information you enter during an unprotected session.
Use a VPN if you ever need to administer the website through an otherwise insecure network. The best VPNs encrypt the entire connection, protecting logins, file transfers, and other activities from attackers and eavesdropping.
Conclusion
State-of-the-art cybersecurity is a necessity for doing business in a digital landscape where a single data breach can cause irreparable reputation damage and financial loss.
Thankfully, you don’t need to be a tech guru to implement robust, effective security measures. Taking the proactive steps we outline above now will boost your store’s cyber resilience and help ensure its long-term success.
