7 ways to make sure your e-commerce site is safe from hackers

Shopping sites are especially susceptible to attempted cyber attacks, as they tend to be responsible for vast amounts of customer data that hackers can exploit for financial gain.

Since this is the case, it makes sense for all e-commerce operators to shore up their security measures and minimise the likelihood of a breach occurring. Here are some tips to help you with your defensive efforts.

Simulate an Attack

Before you address security weak points, you need to actually identify where any weaknesses lie. That’s where penetration testing comes into play, as with a simulated hack it is possible to prod and probe at your site, rooting out any inadequacies in a controlled way.

The good news is that companies actually specialise in this, so it is entirely possible to procure the services of ethical hackers. With their assistance, you will be able to pinpoint problems and come up with suitable solutions and strategies going forwards.

Penetration testing can scale to suit the size and nature of your site. It can even scrutinise the physical security of your premises, not just the digital resilience of your IT resources.

Consider your Platform

There are a wealth of different e-commerce platforms out there, each of which has different features and functions to offer. While you might have chosen your current platform for a few small conveniences it can provide, if the security is up to scratch then it will not be worth retaining.

Open source solutions are entirely viable and in fact potentially more desirable than less flexible platforms, since you can take greater control over the way the site operates and make sure that the administration of security measures is handled in-house.

Embrace Updates

Regardless of the infrastructure that supports your site, if it is not kept up to date with the latest patches, it will be vulnerable to attack.

Hackers are persistently revising their tactics, which is why regular updating is the best way to beat them at their own game. Conversely the longer you put off rolling out an update, the greater the risk of suffering a breach becomes.

Meet Regulatory Requirements

When you operate a transactional site that takes card payments, you are required to comply with regulations on security outlined in the PCI DSS. This is a significant responsibility, as well as providing an excellent framework for how you should run your e-commerce outlet to avoid successful hacks.

One aspect of this will involve ensuring that the checkout process which customers must complete to make a purchase is conducted over a secure connection with SSL authentication in place.

This will not only keep you in the good books of the regulators, but will also show your customers that they can trust your site to keep their private data safe.

Enforce Strict Password Standards

Even with all the security systems in the world, a web-based service can still easily be compromised by malicious third parties if users do not have adequately complex passwords in place.

Today, many sites require that customers create strong passwords when they sign up, although this is far from a universal practice. If you have not yet taken action against passwords which are simple to crack using brute force methods, doing so could significantly enhance the defences of your e-commerce presence.

Train Employees

Human error can bring a business to its knees if it results in a cyber security breach, so keeping employees in the loop on the latest techniques is a sensible step.

Staff should be aware that it is unsafe to send private info over unsecure messaging platforms or use it in any way that contravenes increasingly tough regulations on data privacy.

Expect the Unexpected

Complacency can be the biggest gateway to hackers, so to keep your e-commerce site well protected from their advances you need to assume that breaches are going to be attempted. Furthermore it makes sense to keep an eye out for anything suspicious occurring, as if a hack does succeed then you want to know about it sooner rather than later.

In essence you need to adopt a multifaceted approach to raise the bar for security on your e-commerce site, or else face the severe consequences.

The post 7 ways to make sure your e-commerce site is safe from hackers appeared first on TheMarketingblog.

from TheMarketingblog http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/2018/10/7-ways-to-make-sure-your-e-commerce-site-is-safe-from-hackers/