Cybersecurity is one of the most pressing issues for eCommerce applications all over the world. Without leveraging proper security testing services, online businesses put customers and themselves at the risk of data and financial fraud. This can happen to anyone including small businesses catering to niche customers. Cybercriminals can use even a small security loophole to penetrate through your system and affect your business.
In a nutshell, smaller businesses are at greater risk due to simpler safety protocols and more gaps in online security. Today, businesses have become data-driven and even small stores collect a lot of sensitive customer data. In fact, one in five small businesses is suffering from some sort of cybercrime. Subsequently, around 60 stores are forced to close every 6 months in the USA only due to online frauds and cybercrime.
eCommerce hacking is not only a big risk for business owners, but it can also mingle you into fraudulent payment scams and more. Apart from financial consequences, data theft can ruin the reputation of your business and lose customer loyalty. Customers are not willing to shop on an eCommerce website that is not safe and secure. Hence, it is business-critical to leverage sufficient tools to eliminate online security risks.
How can you Enhance the Security of Your Website?
eCommerce software websites are normally equipped with multiple built-in security features. Being prepared beforehand for online risks is essential to curbing online vulnerabilities.
Here are a few robust ways through which online businesses can minimize the risk of data security and payment frauds:
- Set up the limit of payments on your eCommerce platform based on the target customer and businesses. It will help you in preventing potentially fraudulent transactions from your online app.
- Business owners should always track the invoices carefully. If you find different billing and shipping addresses then it might be an act of fraud. In such cases, verify the physical location of the customer to ensure that the transaction is authentic. You can also track IP addresses to block any online transaction from suspicious locations. Also, there are higher fraud risk incidences from customers with emails provided by free service schemes.
- We often do not update our software on a regular basis and as a result, we miss on crucial security patch updates and more. Hence, always make a point to keep your system up to date to stay immune from malware and virus. Organizations should also leverage business-grade anti-malware software products to safeguard their online operations. If you are on a hosted platform, then you might get automatic updates to keep you immune from vulnerabilities.
- Leverage address verification system (AVS) to analyze the billing address mentioned on the shipping details to the address given by the customer in the credit information file. The majority of payment gateway providers give this feature to help you minimize fraudulent transactions.
- Make CVV compulsory for every transaction. Card Verification Value is a three or four-digit code mentioned on the back of the payment card. Under the PCI standards, online businesses are not allowed to store this information even if they are recording other personal information including address, name, sex, age, and credit card number for future transactions. On top of that, fraudsters often have a card number instead of a card which prevents them from having the CVV number. Hence, the requirement of a CVV number makes it more difficult to execute a fraud transaction.
- Hackers leverage sophisticated algorithms to generate user passwords by running all the possible combinations of a four-digit password. Hence, it is easier for them to figure out an alpha-numeric password. Urge users to create longer passwords with the combination upper case, lower case, special character, and number. Implementation of stricter passwords can minimize the cases of fraud.
- Make sure to conduct a robust risk assessment for all the security areas. Implement a security system based on your risk type to ensure appropriate security.
In Summary
With the majority of businesses going online, eCommerce has become a global norm amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure a reliable and secure customer experience, businesses need to take all the required security measures. Taking proper security measures can make the whole experience safer for both businesses and customers.
