8 Ways to Prevent Cyberattacks on Ecommerce Websites

Safia.f.mohiuddin | Updated 27 Aug 2021 | 3 min read

Data losses and financial information theft happen at astounding rates and costs in millions. In fact, the US alone records $525 million in losses as per Statista estimates. The proliferation of mobile applications has uncovered additional vulnerabilities, with poor security practices of users compounding the rate of occurrence of cybercrime.

How Vulnerable are E-commerce Transactions

Online hacking attacks and fraud rates recorded $32 billion in cost in 2014, as per Business Intelligence estimates. Moreover, with 27 fraud attacks attached to every 1000 transactions (BI data – last quarter 2015), and a 215% increase from the first to the fourth quarter, the vulnerability of e-commerce transactions is clearly visible.

Although customers feel safe shopping online, personal information and financial data theft from SQL Injection, Path Traversal, Malware, Hijacking, or Cross-Site scripting are not uncommon. Cybercriminal activity can cause partial or complete interruption of business services, denial of service, and lost revenue. All these effects can proliferate to more severe losses related to customers, search engine ranking, and brand reputation.

Why E-commerce Websites are Prone to Cyber Criminal Activity

Unprotected Web Services can be taken over by malicious applications, leaking confidential information or performing unauthorized tasks on e-commerce websites
Insecure SSL - CSS, JavaScript, images, or invalid certificates can make your SLL page insecure
Inadequate Transport Layer Protection – Data that is exchanged over an unprotected transport layer is prone to sniffing attacks from a number of network points including proxies, routers, and cell towers

How Can you Prevent Cyber Attacks

Secure transactions can prevent tangible and intangible losses to your business, through a few security measures:

Choose a sophisticated OOPS platform with good website design, real-time analytics, malicious software removal and regular PCI scanning
Ensure secure SSL throughout your customer experience, including secure SSL checkout, SSL web and data authentication, encryption for data in transit, PCI compliant EV SSL, URL green bar security seal for maximum customer trust and AVS / CVV on checkout
Implement a layered security model, with a firewall, contact forms, search forms, to protect against SQL injections and cross-site scripting (XSS)
Implement Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI DSS) for secure transactions and accompany orders with tracking numbers to prevent chargeback fraud
As per PCI standards, sensitive customer data, especially credit card information must not be stored on file
Empower customers to protect their information with complex passwords to prevent cybercriminals from attacking from the front-end
Eliminate human error, through secure access to confidential information and close surveillance
Enable system alerts for suspicious activity including multiple orders with different credit cards, phone numbers from different areas, and when incorrect recipient name is detected

Choosing the right service provider for your websites ensures success in the e-Commerce marketplace. Zyxware ensures compliance to major security standards that will eliminate any possibilities of financial or customer information theft, backing your business to become immune to cybercriminals and deliver zero vulnerability digital and customer experiences every time. To learn more about how we can help you, get in touch with us!