E-Commerce Website Security: 10 Best Practices to Protect Your Online Store

Security tips to protect your e-commerce business

E-commerce security protects your company’s data and system from cyberattacks and prevents access or use by cybercriminals and malicious bots. It keeps your online business secure and safeguards your customers’ and business’s private information. Check out these 10 security best practices to safeguard your online store, prevent e-commerce fraud, and maintain the confidentiality of your customers’ data.

1. Choose a secure e-commerce platform.

The first step in building a secure e-commerce website is to use a secure platform. With so many open-source and proprietary e-commerce platforms available, it can be difficult to choose the best one. No matter which platform you decide to use, ensure that it has extensive security measures in place and that it maintains payment card industry (PCI) compliance. Run PCI scans on your server to check whether you are compliant. [Read related article: Open for Business: 5 Options for Setting Up an Online Store]

Additionally, make sure you are running the latest version of the software. Whenever there is a new patch available, install it immediately. 

2. Implement SSL certificates.

Secure sockets layer (SSL) is the de facto standard for securing online transactions. The SSL certificate authenticates the identity of users and encrypts data both in the store and in transit. SSL is essential to establish secure connectivity between the end-user systems and your e-commerce website.

“Every e-commerce site should be using SSL, and that means using SSL certificates issued by a trusted certificate authority,” said Phil Brass, senior evangelist and technical advisor at DirectDefense. “Browsers will warn and intimidate consumers who attempt to buy software from websites without SSL, and rightly so. Nobody should be sending payment data in plain text across the Internet.”

For tech-savvy buyers, the padlock icon and “https” in the address bar are prerequisites for providing their personal details and credit card information. If consumers believe that a vendor is doing everything possible to secure their transactions, they are more likely to do business with that company.

3. Enable two-factor authentication.

Stolen or compromised user credentials are a common cause of web security breaches. There are multiple ways to steal or guess valid user credentials and compromise the security of your online store. That is where the need for a proven user authentication mechanism arises; it’s a foundation for securing your online store from hacking attempts.

Many e-commerce sites implement two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security. This is a security process in which a valid user needs to provide two means of identification. One is typically the username-and-password combo, while the second is usually an autogenerated code sent to the user’s verified cell phone. 

“Using multifactor authentication for your employees can be a great way to make it harder for threat actors to impersonate them,” Brass said. “Using special applications like Google Authenticator on a mobile device is also a good, strong measure.”

Such apps use an autogenerated code that expires after a short duration or one-time use, which makes it difficult for a hacker to get the code. Google Authenticator, for example, generates a code every 30 seconds to make sure it constantly changes and thus prevents unauthorized access.

>> Learn more: How Companies Are Detecting Spear Phishing Attacks Using Machine Learning

5. Use a VPN.

When you are dealing with customer data, especially with financial transactions, you need to be extremely careful on public networks. Data transferred over public networks is vulnerable to interception by malicious users. A virtual private network (VPN) service is useful in such a situation. It gives you an encrypted connection to a secure offsite server, which prevents a third party from getting between you and the server.

“A VPN is an excellent tool for restricting access to networks and network services to only those people who are authorized,” Brass said. “If possible, even your website authoring platform should be protected by a VPN.”

If you are concerned about the costs of a traditional VPN service, consider an SSL-based VPN, which is cheaper. OpenVPN is a popular choice, as it offers an open-source, community-based version that you can use for free.

5. Educate your customers and employees.

Users need education on the laws and policies that affect customer data. Educate your clients and your workforce on your information security practices. Let them know how you protect customers’ credit card information and what they should do on their end to keep the financial information secure. Highlight your organization’s best practices for data security, and tell them not to disclose sensitive data over email, text or chat.

Your employees also must be trained on the actions necessary to keep customer data safe. Direct them to adhere to mandated security protocols and policies to protect your business from potential legal consequences.

6. Deploy a web application firewall.

Web application firewalls (WAFs) can be an important part of protecting your site, Brass said. WAFs safeguard your website by filtering and monitoring HTTP traffic to block malicious traffic such as SQL injection and cross-site-scripting attacks. The third-party software helps to ensure that only legitimate users access your site. 

“They vary in effectiveness, and will always be more effective if they are highly tuned to your site’s structure,” Brass said.

7. Back up your data regularly.

Perform regular backups of your site and database. Store these backups securely, ideally in multiple locations or via a cloud provider such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon S3 or Backblaze B2. This ensures that you can recover data quickly in the event of a cyberattack or system failure. 

“Threats from cyberfraud to a business’s data require backend systems to be regularly backed up to recover efficiently,” said Ben Green, chief revenue officer at adCAPTCHA. 

8. Use secure payment gateways.

“Many e-commerce businesses are getting out of the business of handling credit card payments directly and delegating that to secure payment gateway providers,” Brass said. “Ideally, the e-commerce site never sees any payment card data at all. While this does reduce some of the direct risk to the business (nobody can steal the credit cards from your site or database), it really just moves that risk to the payment gateway.”

To select a gateway with high standards, ensure that the provider complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which is the standard you must follow when accepting credit card payments. PCI DSS uses advanced encryption and keeps your customers’ card information — including the card number, CSV and name — protected from cyberthreats, Brass explained. 

9. Implement role-based access control.

It’s important to restrict each user’s access to sensitive systems and information based on their role within the organization, said Simon Wijckmans, founder and CEO of c/side. 

“If someone only needs to update product descriptions on their e-commerce site, they shouldn’t be able to modify payment systems,” Wijckmans said. “When you combine this careful control over who can do what with active monitoring of your site’s activities, you create a much stronger security position.”

The e-commerce world moves fast with third-party scripts — the code used for payment processing, analytics, chatbots and more. In fact, it’s usually updated weekly or even more often, Wijckmans said. 

“Each update is potentially an opportunity for something to go wrong, whether accidentally or through deliberate tampering,” he explained. “Without proper monitoring and access controls, you might not notice problems until customers start complaining about fraudulent charges on their cards. By then, the damage to both finances and reputation is already done.”

10. Monitor for suspicious activity.

Active monitoring is crucial because today’s attacks are increasingly sophisticated and stealthy, according to Wijckmans. “We’ve seen cases where malicious code ran undetected on e-commerce websites for over two years, quietly stealing customer data,” he said. “Even more concerning, when attackers compromise one business, they often use it as a springboard to attack others.”

Use monitoring tools to detect unusual patterns, such as repeated login failures or large numbers of transactions from one IP address. Set up alerts to take immediate action when potential threats are detected. However, it’s not enough to set up alerts, Brass told business.com. 

“As you implement firewalls, WAFs, endpoint security, email security, training programs and all the other components of the modern security stack, you need to make sure you keep an eye on the alerts all these tools generate, investigating and responding to events rapidly to prevent breaches,” he explained.

The importance of security in e-commerce

Security is a cornerstone of a successful e-commerce business. By safeguarding sensitive client data and your online platform, you protect your company’s reputation and build trust with your customers. Consider these reasons why e-commerce security is vital:

• E-commerce security protects customers’ data. As an e-commerce business owner, you must ensure that all customer data is handled safely and securely. E-commerce security can be a tricky subject, but it is your responsibility to protect your website from being hacked and sensitive customer data from being stolen.
• E-commerce security builds trust in your company. Consumers want to work with a business they can trust. When they enter their personal information, like their credit card number or banking details, in a form on your site, they expect it to be protected. If your business is compromised and customers’ information is exposed, they will be less likely to do business with you in the future.
• E-commerce security saves money from potential breaches. If your site is compromised by hackers, you’ll have to pay to fix the security breach. This can include paying for a forensic investigation, data recovery services and credit monitoring for your customers.
• E-commerce security ensures compliance. Your business must also maintain security compliance to meet the proper legal standards for an online business. If your company does not adhere to those regulations, such as PCI DSS, you may be fined or subject to other penalties.

Potential e-commerce security threats

With the proper safeguards in place, you can shield your business and customers from online threats. Here are a few common threats you should be aware of.

Phishing

Using email, text and even phone calls, hackers try to trick store owners into providing personal information, like passwords, banking information and Social Security numbers. They usually pretend to be an organization of authority that’s just “checking” or “updating” information it already has.

It’s never a good idea to give out any kind of sensitive information if you didn’t initiate the interaction. Instead of replying to the email or text or providing any information over the phone, reach out to the organization’s customer support line directly.

Malware and ransomware

Avoid clicking links or downloading software you’re not familiar with, as these are common doorways to malware and other device- and network-infecting software. Once your system is infected, hackers can restrict you from accessing data within your system and may demand money to restore your access.

Another measure you can take to avoid a crunch like this is to back up your information regularly so that, even if your system is compromised, you can restore your system using your backup. [Read related article: What Is Ransomware?]

SQL injection

An SQL injection is a sneaky tool attackers use to manipulate the back end of your system. This is essentially a data breach, which means they can view private data and operate part of your system without your knowledge. 

Wijckmans explained how Magecart attacks, a type of e-commerce security injection threat, steal customer information. “These attacks specifically target shopping cart systems, with attackers injecting malicious code that skims payment data,” Wijckmans said. 

To avoid SQL injection attacks, make sure your system is up to date and consider implementing a web application firewall to help block malicious data.

Cross-site scripting 

Cross-site scripting, or XSS, is when a hacker inputs harmful code into your company’s webpage. This tactic is used to directly steal from your customers as visitors to your website are exposed to malware, phishing, malicious bots and other ways to steal their information. Consider using an HTTP Content Security Policy to beef up your data security.

E-skimming

When hackers infiltrate your e-commerce store through phishing, XSS or other attacks, they wait for customers at the checkout page so they can swipe their credit card and personal information. When attackers e-skim, they’re going after all the information on your payment card processing pages. 

Web-form hijacking is another version where hackers steal your customers’ information during the checkout process. “Attackers create fake payment forms that overlay legitimate checkout pages,” Wijckmans said. “Customers think they’re entering their credit card details on a legitimate payment page, but they’re actually sending that information directly to criminals.”

To protect the payment page on your website, keep your software updated, change all default credentials to strong passwords, implement multifactor authentication, and segment and segregate networks and functions.

Fortifying your online store

E-commerce security is a fundamental aspect of running a successful online business. With the growing number of cyberthreats targeting e-commerce platforms, retailers need to take proactive measures to safeguard their systems and protect their customers’ data. By implementing SSL certificates, multifactor authentication and other best practices, businesses can reduce the risk of breaches, maintain compliance, and build trust with their customers.

Amanda Clark and Sean Peek contributed to this article.