What is the Need for Cyber Security in E-commerce?

30-Jun-2023

The paradigm shift in business from traditional methods to digital platforms has resulted in e-commerce becoming the norm of business and marketing. The e-commerce industry is not immune to the dangers of cyber threats, from the risk of losing customers' data to losing money to several other risks of people losing their money online. Cybersecurity is a must for the industry hence. 

Cyber security entails defending systems, networks, or devices by employing sets of strategies, methods, and technologies. Cyber security in e-commerce is a necessity. In e-commerce, it primarily aims at safeguarding and protecting the data of the customers. A customer's data significantly includes credit card numbers, home addresses, telephone numbers, etc., that are highly confidential and personal.

The risk of leaking and losing this information to bad actors with malicious intent looms large, thus reflecting the need for cyber security in e-commerce. Let us discuss the nuances of e-commerce, its ways of conducting business, and how these activities reflect the need for cyber security in e-commerce.

Understanding E-commerce and the Need for Cybersecurity in e-commerce

The growth of the Internet of Things and digitalization has become a boon for businesses as they give greater customer reach and faster growth avenues. Businesses have taken to the online marketing platform,  which saw about a 40 percent hike in the number of shoppers in the recent past five years.  E-commerce is a booming sector and now the face of the future of business. The bigger challenge, however, now is to keep the industry safe from the harmful effects of cyber threats that loom large in cyberspace. 

Cyber security in e-commerce is premised on the actions of safeguarding reliability, Integrity, and authenticity. Reliability entails allowing only authorized persons to access the systems and data. Integrity entails that data cannot be deleted or altered without authorization and authenticity would imply preserving the identity of the individuals sending data to the company. 

The need for cyber security in e-commerce is indispensable as companies are required to commit to protecting their database, servers, networks, and endpoints. Companies should guarantee to fix their weak points and vulnerabilities before cyber criminals take hold and launch attacks. 

Security in e-commerce in simple words means guaranteeing the safety and security of your business and customers. Often e-commerce is seen as a hotspot where cybercriminals find their target, from personal information to financial data. While businesses, regardless of the size, incur heavy loss and damage in the event of a cyber attack. 

Unavoidable Need for Cyber Security in E-Commerce 

The need for cyber security in e-commerce is unavoidable not only to protect the company but also to protect customer and their confidential data. It has become essential for businesses to have robust cybersecurity protocols to ensure customers or clients experience safe and better internet marketing. Customers remaining confident in your service is key to a thriving business. No customer wants to compromise their vital information to any random site or business that has a reputation and history of cyberattacks. You put your customers in a vulnerable position if you run a business without securing a safe environment. Hence, investing in cyber security is crucial. 

The e-commerce industry is growing at great speed generating improvement in online transactions and equally attracting bad actors with malicious intents. 

Most Common Security Threats to E-commerce Sites

There are variants of cyber security attacks with broad expanse. Let us talk about the major security issues that are a significant threat to the e-commerce industry, also denoting the need for cyber security in e-commerce. 

Phishing

It is a type of social engineering used by cybercriminals to trick victims. They employ phones, emails, and texts to coax victims and fish out private information like account numbers, passwords, social security numbers, etc. 

Malware and Ransomware

This is an expensive threat that causes heavy loss to business in case of being infected. Malware or ransomware may make you lock out of your data and systems. It comes in the form of software employed to gain access to systems or data and disrupt or damage your whole network or system. Ransomware is a sort of malware that holds captive data and warns to release it until a form of payment is made. In the event of a business infected with these threats, businesses face downtime causing a halt of the operation or shutting off a business altogether.

SQL Injection

When e-commerce sites store their data in a SQL database they are at risk of the malicious query being injected. Such action may in a packaged payload result in your data making it accessible to cyber attackers and manipulating the database information. 

Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

This is a type of attack that does not affect the website itself but impact the sites or page users. This is another major attack that may cause to loss of critical information not just of the business but the customers using the service like shoppers ultimately exposing your clients to malware and phishing attempts. etc. 

E-Skimming

This is a very common case of cyber threats. Cyberattackers steal information on commercial sites like personal data, and credit card information from payment processing pages. Cyberattackers gain access to your site through the successful intrusion of phishing, XXS, etc. The customer's payment information that users enter on the checkout page is then captured. 

Some Cyber security methods to keep your business safe from Cyberthreats

• Safeguarding social engineering attempts.

• Protect your devices.

• Backing up data.

• Switching to HTTPS.

• Regular updating of your site 

• Storing only needed customer data 

• Implementing additional authentication factors.

• Using strong and unique passwords

• Making customers use strong passwords

• Review plugins and third-party integrations regularly

Cybersecurity is a necessity for every industry not only for safeguarding but with robust security measures and protocol ensures, businesses are bound to operate more efficiently producing higher productivity as well as quicker operation. 

The best method to gain in-depth awareness of information security is to enroll in a Cyber Security course. The fact that importance and relevance of cyber security have become increasingly crucial that young upcoming minds are enticed by the thriving career possibilities. This has resulted in the popularity of Cyber Security Course programs and training in the recent past. The role of cyber security will continue to grow as technology and the digital space continue to evolve.

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