Cashing on people’s vulnerability to shop, ecommerce websites are a rage everywhere these days. Although you can see new shopping websites spring forth almost every day, how safe is it to shop on these websites?
Yes, website owners do take the pain of trying to keep their servers secure but it isn’t unusual to hear that some smart-ass hacker again found a loophole in the security system and managed to gain access to customer data.
So you may be the owner of an ecommerce store that’s using a software as a service platform, like Shopify or Yahoo store. Or, you might be someone who has hired a company like Open Store to take care of your security; here are a few basics about internet security you must know:
Use Data Encryption
Data encryption is basic. Your database should be encrypted, especially for sensitive data like credit card numbers, passwords of customers, payment information, tax ids, etc.
Same goes for the security of the forms that your members fill when they register on your website. You must ensure that they are safe from hackers as the information could be easily exploited causing damage to your website and the customer. The trick is to ensure that the software you are using resists exploitation or code injection via forms.
Credit Card Numbers Should Not Be Stored
When you don’t store sensitive and exploitable information, there is no chance that the hacker will misuse it. However, if you still want to store payment information, follow the mandatory PCI standards or use an authorized payment gateway to do it for you.
So, basically it is best that you avoid storing credit card numbers and other payment details but if you insist on doing so, make sure that you secure it in the best way possible.
Limit Access To Information As Per Requirement
Most often than not, frauds are perpetrated by insiders like employees and vendors. To solve this problem, many companies follow the policy of employee right segregation. This entails accounts that are created with rights specific to an employee’s profile. This would lead to safety of information without creating any sort of hindrance in their work.
Apart from this, changing passwords regularly is always a healthy practice but when your account has been hacked, the exploitation would’ve already been done. However, this doesn’t mean that you should resist from this habit.
When a website’s address begins with http:// or https://, it means that the connection between a customer’s computer and the website is encrypted by SSL certification and is safe. Even though the connection is safe, it does not guarantee that the hackers won’t be able to break into your website and retrieve confidential information. So, don’t simply take SSL certification to be the ultimate security for your website.
These are some basic non-technical points that will help you in getting started with website security. The technical aspects are huge and it is best to hire a professional to handle them.
About the Author
Brenda Lyttle is a shopaholic and an Internet marketer. She strongly recommends that you take the security of your shopping website seriously. If you’re still thinking about making an ecommerce store, she recommends using the services of Open Source for all-in-one package solutions. For more information about their available packages, you can click here.