The number of transactions over the internet is increasing rapidly. To ensure the security of both customers and websites, it is extremely important to gauge the risks that threatens us. Although the security in online transactions is maintained by the website or some third party agent, the rate at which E-Commerce security threats are increasing is alarming. It is, thus, important to have a proper knowledge about it. The information on security threat is not only for the website owners, or people who are in e-commerce but for everyone who uses these sites for shopping online. An insecure ecommerce store poses a potential threat to personal and sensitive data of customers and stakeholders, alike.
The top 10 E-Commerce threats are:
- Financial Frauds: The most common and famous fraud taking place in the E-commerce industry every day. Financial fraud is when an unauthorized transaction is made using stolen personal information to buy online. Fake refunds and returns are also part of financial fraud. For example: If ‘A’ orders an earphone from Amazon, and after receiving it, he claims he received an empty box, the platform gives him another pair for free. Here ‘A’ to keep two earphones via committing a friendly fraud one and not the original brand. He gets another one for free and keeps the old one too.
- Spam: Spam is one of the oldest forms of threat that is known to almost everyone. It is also one of the cyber attack types that is actively
used by hackers. The spam usually works when an email is sent with the harmful links and once it is opened, it can cause damage to data on the website or on a computer, laptop or any device.
3. Phishing: This method of threat is also used commonly, here the hacker creates the message or link of a legitimate website and sends it across. An unsuspecting customer goes through the links and ends up giving his/her personal information asked via these links. Hackers can easily retract that information and abuse it.
Phishing example
4. Bad Bots: Hackers developed bad bots to change pricing and inventory information of a website, which leads to changes in prices of best-selling items available on the website. Then hackers target them which leads to disruption in inventory.
5. DDoS Attacks: Distributed Denial attacks are carried out to create colossal disruption on a website leading to its crash. The disruption is made by numerous requests from untraceable IP addresses which floods the website and overall sale until the website is crashed.
6. Malware: A software specially created to tamper and disrupt the functioning of a website from getting access to its database to causing damage to it
The Malware functioning is inserted via SQL injection which helps get access to Database, sent malicious mail to clients, fake identity and tamper with database.
7. SQL Injection: The threat grants access to the hacker via targeting query sales forms and with malicious code, the hacker can collect data and delete it too. SQL injection in magento is one of most common threats seen by ecommerce users.
8. Brute Force Attacks: The program is built to crack the password of the store’s admin panel through every possible combination. If the admin’s panel password is easily solved it will give hackers major access to the website’s database.
9. Cross-Site Scripting Attack (XSS): The hacker sends mail that has infected JavaScript, and if the receiver opens it, it can give access to the hacker of his/her personal information and entry to the customer’s device.
10. Trojan Horses: Also one of the famous e-commerce security threats to computers and websites which helps hackers swipe all the sensitive information with ease.
How do E-Commerce security solutions help ease live?
As mentioned above there are numerous dangerous threats to E-Commerce websites and hackers are also developing new threats every day. To stay safe and secure your website from such threats these are some of the things to keep in mind:
- Use the most difficult password: The frequent change in passwords will help secure your sites. Easy passwords are solved easily by the hackers so maintaining a difficult password is important for the website’s admin panel to secure the database.
- Use third part agent for payment gateway security: Keeping the credit card or any card details on the website can be a huge burden on the website as it can be hacked at any moment. Using third party agents will help maintain the payment gateway security and also build trust with the website’s customers, and is one of the best E-Commerce security solutions.
- Install a firewall; keep Bad traffic out of sight: The use of a firewall is highly recommended and is also one of affordable E-Commerce solution. It continuously regulates traffic and keeps untrusted traffic away from the website. They can tackle threats such as SQL injections and XXS attacks on the website ensuring the safety of the website.
- Backup data and stay updated: Continued data and backup and updates will help keep an eye on the malicious activity taking place on the website. When the threat is missed in its early stage backing data continuously will help secure data even though the website crashes.
Reiterating what we just discussed in the article, today, the importance of cyber security paramount. Hence it is extremely crucial to realize that with your growing business, the risks.are also increasing. No ecommerce should overlook the above cyber threats. Quite contrary to that, they must hustle to devise a working security system for their store that checks most of these threats.
