eCommerce website development is a trend in the industry that has gone beyond the roof in recent years. eCommerce websites are a hotspot for cyberattacks directed towards the financial and user data on the site. What is alarming is that such cyberattacks can completely turn the organization upside down within a night!
Q1 2021 for retail ecommerce in the US showed a massive growth of 7.7% over the previous quarter. For an ecommerce web development company, there are multiple potential entry points for cyber attackers, right from hosting vulnerabilities to something like plugins.
Common Threats Faced by eCommerce Websites
There are numerous ways through which hackers get access to crucial user and financial transaction data on an ecommerce platform. Before proceeding to the best security practices, it is essential to know the threats that the website can face. Below are some of the most common cyber threats for your eCommerce website-
Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDoS)
In a DDoS attack, a website is sent an excessive volume of traffic, which leads to blocking the site from performing any function. Often, such attacks are accompanied by ransom requests, but that can vary as per the attacker's objective.
XSS Attack
XSS attack, also known as Cross-site scripting, is a practice by cyber attackers in which they inject malicious code into the website to redirect users. This intends to spy on the redirected traffic, take over the user accounts on the eCommerce platform, and access their personal data.
SQL Injection
Every ecommerce development company will agree that SQL injection is the most widespread cyber attack on ecommerce websites. With an SQL injection, the hackers start collecting customer's personal information, such as ID proof and banking details. Hackers input the SQL code through one of the data entry points in the website to get access to the backend quickly.
Brute Force Attack
A brute force attack is when a hacker tries to access the admin account of a site by guessing the password. This is a relatively old and straightforward type of cyberattack that has evolved over time. Now, hackers use various tools to automate these attacks using stolen data through SQL injection.
9 Security Practices To Consider During Ecommerce Website Development
Suggest Strong Password
The first and most basic security practice to consider is creating a strong password for both customers and employees. A strong password combines numbers, special characters, and a combination of lower & upper case characters. Another critical aspect to remember is to create unique passwords for all logins. In a Google survey report, 52% of people use the same password for multiple websites. Such similar passwords across various platforms increase the chances of cyber attacks.
Provide a secure password manager for all the employees to store their unique passwords for every login. A password manager will remove the hardship of remembering all the passwords, and the uniqueness of every password will help enhance site security.
Select a Secure Hosting Provider
Cyberattacks are not always directed to your website; sometimes, they target the hosting provider directly. This is why the first consideration while working with an ecommerce development company would be to ask about the hosting they will use. The two different solutions on offer are either selecting a proprietary CMS or an open-source one.
When it comes to security, a proprietary CMS takes the load of securing your website, unlike an open-source CMS, where you are free to secure the site as you wish. However, it is suggested by top ecommerce website development agencies that an open-source CMS like WordPress is a suitable choice.
If this sounds too technical to comprehend, check with your partner ecommerce website development company for expert suggestions on this!
Opt for Multilayer Security
Almost everyone is familiar with the multi-factor authentication process by now. The website's login page contacts users via SMS or email to enter the OTP for authentication.
Another way to implement the same is through a website's mobile app, which confirms the user's identity before giving them access to the site. The core goal of such a practice is to eliminate any security threats to the ecommerce platform.
With multilayer security, it becomes extremely difficult for attackers to access the site even if they have a user's login info. Such extra measures always help to enhance brand reputation. Most ecommerce website development experts believe that preventing data and security breaches on the site is impossible without a layered security approach!
Install an SSL Certificate
SSL or Secure Socket Layer certificate allows an e-commerce platform to secure sensitive user data. An SSL certificate assures that strong algorithms encrypt the data transferred between a site and the user.
It is easy to identify a website that has an SSL certificate. Look for a small lock icon beside the address on the browser; if it's there, the site is SSL-certified. While the certificate does help in adding security to the website, it also adds credibility to the site. Users are more assured with the presence of an SSL certificate, especially if they are about to make a purchase on the site with their payment information.
When working with a reputed ecommerce web development company, they will ensure that the platform is delivered to you with an SSL certificate for added security!
Use a Firewall
A Firewall monitors every incoming and outgoing traffic of the site for suspicious activity. Every company has a unique firewall built on rules that determine suspicious traffic.
A firewall can help in preventing DDoS attacks and SQL injection. It prevents attackers from injecting anything into the website code by strengthening the database security.
Keep your Software and Hardware Updated
Often, ecommerce platforms make the mistake of ignoring software and hardware updates across multiple devices. As these updates are frequent in nature, it's easy to fall behind! Prioritizing these updates highly helps boost the security of the site.
Experts from a reputed ecommerce website development company explain that software updates aren't for the mere purpose of adding new frontend features. Updates are applied to tools to patch vulnerabilities and enhance security. Additionally, you can assign a few hours monthly for the employees to download and install new updates.
Add Security Plugins
There are multiple plugins that exist on CMSes that help in optimizing various aspects of an ecommerce website security. The Wordfence security plugin in WordPress is highly efficient and popular with most users. This multi-task security plugin allows the implementation of two-factor authentication and spam blocking. It also analyzes the ecommerce platform to keep it safe from any impending security breach and brute force attacks.
Website analysis to identify security loopholes is crucial to enhancing website security for an ecommerce platform. When it comes to ecommerce development in USA, cyberattackers are highly skilled, which is why having such a plugin makes it easier to prevent any attack on the site.
Secure Payment Gateways
A payment gateway helps authorize credit/debit card transactions from the user and deposits the money to the account after successful completion. It automates the entire payment process for your ecommerce platform. PayPal, RazorPay, Google Pay, and Apple Pay are some of the popular names in the field of payment gateways.
A payment gateway is worth trusting if it offers the below-mentioned features-
- Data encryption is the key feature that needs to be exceptional in the payment gateway you select. In ecommerce website development, the user’s payment details are firstly encrypted with a public key. Secondly, it uses a different key to decrypt the information to process the payment. Additionally, a payment gateway also features an algorithm that prevents any unauthorized access to any of the user payment data.
- Check if the gateway offers a tokenization service. In tokenization, the credit/debit card number is replaced by random characters. To decrypt the same, a key is required. This further strengthens the security as hackers cannot decipher anything even if they breach the payment gateway.
- Every ecommerce website development agency will agree that for a payment gateway, it is essential to have PCI DSS compliance. If the payment gateway complies with top-level PCI standards, it is the best choice for your ecommerce platform!
Create a Website Backup
Even after you have taken all the measures to enhance the security of the website, there are still chances that the site can be subject to cyber-attacks. No matter how hard you try, ensuring 100% protection is difficult, which is why backup is an excellent option!
Suppose your website reports a bug and the security is compromised; with a backup in hand, you can quickly bring it back to life without any fear of losing the data. Apart from web security issues, a site backup will also save you from certain errors during implementation. On WordPress, there are plugins such as UpdraftPlus that make it easy to back up the website.
However, every trusted ecommerce website development company suggests making several backups. You can keep a backup on the CMS but ensure copies of the backup on computer or other external harddrive.
Conclusion
As cyberattacks keep flooding the internet daily, it is high time to implement the highest standard of security on your ecommerce website. Just like any physical store would have invested in security with CCTV cameras, security guards, and much more, an online store, too, needs top-notch security measures. Keep a note of the best practices and discuss the same with your partner ecommerce website development to secure your platform!