Is Your E-Commerce Business Secure?

Did you know that the cost of e-commerce fraud losses grows by 18% in a single year?

The implications of an online security breach are huge for e-commerce businesses and can lead to financial losses for not only the business but its customers also. Therefore, its important e-commerce businesses take Cybersecurity seriously.

A Cybersecurity breach doesn’t only lead to financial loss, but also reputational loss and a loss of trust in the business. This all leads to financial loss in the long-term though also.

There are several hazards to your online shop that you need to guard against. Let’s look at some of the most frequent hazards that affect internet enterprises.

     1. Financial frauds

There are 2 common types of fraud that are used to target online businesses: credit card frauds and fake returns

• Credit card fraud happens when a criminal uses stolen credit card data to purchase goods or services on an e-commerce store.
• Fake returns are unauthorised transactions made to false requests for returns. Businesses reimburse unlawfully obtained merchandise or damaged goods in refund fraud, which is a typical financial scam

    2. Phishing

Phishing is a cybercrime where the criminals aim to steal a user’s confidential data, such as login and passwords.  These are achieved via mass email campaigns which usually contain a link that takes users to a malicious website that encourages them to input their login details for a site. This then allows criminals to steal bank details.

    3. Spam

Leaving infected URLs in comments on your blog or contact forms is an open invitation for internet spammers to damage you. They frequently send them through your social media inbox and wait for you to click them. Spamming not only compromises your website but it also slows it down, this can make it a frustrating experience for your customers.

    4. Bots

Bots are automated software applications programmed to perform specific tasks. Web crawlers, probably the most known type of bots, are those that define websites’ rankings by systematically browsing all the exiting pages on the internet.

However, some bots are created to crawl websites for their pricing and inventory information. Cybercriminals will use this technique to change the pricing of online stores which can result in a decline in revenue.  

    5. DDoS Attacks

A DDoS (distributed denial of service) assault aims to prevent a company from operating until the attack is effectively prevented or the attacker ceases. These attacks can harm your website or app by generating many requests which eventually can crash the whole system and make it unavailable for the end-user. This eventually disrupts your site and affects sales.

Conclusion

Security should be a top priority for any business, but especially e-commerce businesses. When your entire operation is built around the internet, it is vital you take the proper steps to protect and secure your business from Cybercriminals.

If not, and you are attacked, then you can expect to encounter numerous losses, from financial losses, to reputational and loss of trust.