Safety for e-commerce: 5 ways to boost data security during the shopping season

1. Cybersecurity For  E-Commerce: 5 Ways To Boost  Data Security During The  Shopping Season    E-commerce security is a set of protocols that ensures safe transactions  through the internet. In digital security, significant data breaches have  profoundly undermined trust. Consumers are comfortable making purchases 

2. through common networks. However, they require a little more convincing when  it comes to sharing their credit card data with unfamiliar companies.  By 2021, ​over 2.14 billion people worldwide​ are expected to buy goods and  services online. Increased online buying means retail data breaches will also be  on the rise as point-of-sale (POS) systems, e-commerce sites and other store  servers are major targets for hackers.  The biggest long-term consequence of a data breach is the loss of consumer  trust which will have a direct effect on sales and destroy the retailers’ credibility.  Current Statistics On Data breach   Data breach refers to a security incident in which personal information is  publicly exposed or accessed without authorization.   Cybercrime Magazine predicts that retail will be one of ​the top 10 most attacked  industries​ for 2019–2022.   A few recent data breaches include:  ● In March 2020, Marriott announced that ​data of 5.2 million guests​ have  been accessed using the login credentials of two employees at a franchise  property.  ● In May 2020, low-cost airline EasyJet revealed that a “highly-sophisticated  attacker” ​stole nine million consumers’ personal data​.  ● A single ​ransomware attack at Blackbaud ​exposed information from at  least 247 organizations that have issued their own breach notices as of  September 2020. Of the 247 organizations to issue breach notices to their 

3. consumers, only 58 have disclosed the number of individuals impacted by  the breach – 6,981,091.   ● A ​study by KPMG​ states that 19% of consumers would completely stop  shopping at a retailer after a breach and 33% would take a break from  shopping there for an extended period.  The above statistics have serious implications for online retailers, mainly when  trust and consumer confidence in your brand is the only way to ensure success.   Top 5 E-commerce Platforms for Online  Businesses  It is very difficult to find the right e-commerce platforms for online business.  Factors like popularity, overall ranking, features, consumer service, pricing, and  ease of use play an important role in selecting the best e-commerce platforms.   Based on these factors a few e-commerce platforms are mentioned below:  Shopify   Shopify is one of the best e-commerce sites and caters to businesses of all  sizes. One of the most crucial reasons for their success is its flexibility. There  are more than 2,400 apps in the Shopify App Store. It includes a built-in CMS,  multiple themes for your site, a third-party marketplace and capability for a blog  for your online store. Apart from the standard Shopify, Shopify Lite is for those  with an existing website that needs a platform to take payments.  

4.   Bigcommerce  BigCommerce, as a leading open SaaS solution provides merchants  sophisticated enterprise-grade functionality, customization, and performance  with simplicity and ease-of-use. It has two offerings: BigCommerce Essentials  (a DIY SaaS platform) and BigCommerce Enterprise (a customized experience  for larger consumers). More than 800 apps in the BigCommerce app store allow  you to add numerous additional capabilities to your store. Its multi-currency  features allow merchants to set prices in multiple currencies and also settle in  more than one currency.  Magento  Magento is best for small-to-medium businesses that have already established  demand, as well as the time, manpower and skill to build their own site. The  platform is very powerful and has a library of over 5,000 extensions. Being open  source, it targets people with professional web development experience.  Magneto exists in two versions: Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce.  Wix  Wix.com is a cloud-based website builder that allows users to create online  stores through drag-and-drop tools. It has an extensive range of templates and  designs that make it easy to build a compelling and functional website. Its 

5. website builder and ecommerce component is very user-friendly. It also  provides a large selection of templates to fit various business needs. Wix.com’s  ecommerce functionality has most of what a business would need, but doesn’t  scale as well as dedicated platforms like Shopify or Magento.  WooCommerce  WooCommerce is a free, open-source WordPress shopping cart plugin owned  and developed by WordPress. It is suitable for small businesses that operate on  a tight budget but still want a robust online store. However, you will have to  separately purchase hosting, a domain name, and an SSL certificate, all of which  are catered for by many of the stand-alone e-commerce platforms.  WooCommerce allows unlimited products and product variants, including digital  products.        Security Threats That E-Commerce Stores  Face 

7. Ecommerce security for e-commerce is a must-have and consumers need to be  constantly reassured about the safety measures that have been taken to  mitigate a security threat. Features which an e-commerce security needs to  adapt are:  1. Invisible security​ – The website works fast and returns minimal errors.  The e-commerce site should implement website speed optimization, use  a faster DNS provider and reduce image sizes.   2. Visible security​ – Trust signals are visuals and graphics that make the  consumers feel safe when they shop from an online e-commerce site.  Few trust signals like About us page, branding, consumer testimonials,  secure payment gateways and guarantees would help.  Both invisible and visible security help build trusting consumer relationships.   Cybersecurity is a crucial feature which needs to be implemented by the  e-commerce industry. Without proper ​security practices​ put into practice  online retailers will put themselves and their consumers at high risk for data  breach.   Some of the types of threats faced by e-commerce are mentioned below:  1. Denial of Service or Distributed Denial of Service attacks  A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack occurs when multiple machines  are operating together to attack the e-commerce site and server. They are  flooded with malicious queries that stop the site from working properly making  the website inoperable. These attacks are disruptive, costly and affect overall  sales. 

8. 2. SQL injections  SQL injections are cyber-attacks used to manipulate backend databases and  access information that was not intended to be displayed. They can inject rogue  code into the database to data as well as delete it.   3. XSS attacks  Cross site scripting (XSS) is a type of attack in which malicious scripts are  injected into the websites and web applications for the purpose of running on  the end user’s device.   4. Customer journey hijacking  Customer journey hijacking (CJH) is a customer-side phenomenon whereby  unauthorized advertisements are injected into consumers’ browsers. The  injected advertisements can include product ads, pop-ups, banners and in-text  redirects.   5. Credit card frauds  Credit card fraud is the unauthorized use of a credit or debit card to make a  purchase. The card numbers can be stolen from unsecured websites or can be  obtained in an identity theft scheme.  6. Bad bots  Bad bots are designed to perform a variety of malicious jobs. They are capable  of stealing content from the website, such as product reviews, product pricing,  catalogs and so on which they publish on some other site. This affects the  search engine ranking of the retailers’ website. Bad bots are able to make 

9. multiple page visits within a very short span of time thus straining Web servers,  which makes the site slow for genuine users.    5 Ways E-Commerce Can Keep Their Online  Stores Safe Using Identity Management  1. Renew SSL certificates and ensure total PCI compliance.  SSL is the de facto norm for protecting online transactions and is critical for  maintaining safe connections between the e-commerce platform and end-user  systems. One can switch from HTTP to HTTPS with SSL certifications in place,  which acts as a confidence signal and a requirement for customers to include  their personal details and credit card information.   The Payment Card Industry Data Protection Standard ( PCI DSS or PCI) is an  industry standard that guarantees the safe transfer and storage of credit card  information obtained electronically. PCI compliance has to be upheld for  e-commerce websites.  2. Encourage your consumers to go passwordless while accessing their  accounts  Registering or signing in without a password in the supermarket sector calls for  customer retention and loyalty. Consumers can log in with a magic connection  or OTP sent to their mobile number or email identifier by allowing the one-touch  login function. 

10. 3. Prominently display payment trust signals and logos on your payment  pages.  Displaying payment confidence signals and icons prominently on payment sites  shows the user the security precautions taken by the website for e-commerce.  In e-commerce, user protection is important. Only data that is useful for the  purposes of completing the sale can be obtained by e-commerce platforms.  4. Verify card and address details to reduce the risk of fraudulent  transactions  E-commerce websites need to check cards and address customers' data in  order to risk fraudulent purchases. For any sale, the use of specific tracking  numbers helps to combat chargeback fraud. Geo-targeting can help remove  suspicious purchases as well.  5. A secure login form to prevent credential attacks  By implementing ​multi-factor authentication (MFA)​, retailers would be able to  ensure that digital consumers can be authenticated. This method requires the  consumer to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to the  online account.      

11. How LoginRadius Enhances E-Commerce  Security With Its Advance CIAM Solution     LoginRadius is a customer identity and access management tool that offers a  seamless and secure way to access customer information – in your case,  shoppers’ data.   The ​LoginRadius identity solution​ provides a centralized, available, and secure  identification and management of customers’ data to retailers.   A few of LoginRadius solutions are mentioned below:  ● Real-time ability for visitors to self-register for services  ● Login and authenticate 

12. ● Enjoy a single-source view  With LoginRadius, you can get 360-degree customer profiling, with 100%  customer consent, across all touch points. This allows you to personalize  marketing and loyalty programs that engage your audience.   Conclusion    Consumers want to shop with ​e-commerce retailers​ whom they can trust. When  they enter their personal information, like credit card numbers or other banking  details, they expect it to be well protected. By implementing proper  e-commerce security safeguards, you can protect your business and consumers  from online threats.