Mitigating Security Risks: Protecting Customer Data in eCommerce

 There's no other industry where customer satisfaction plays a greater role than in the e-commerce space.  Even a single error on your app can send your customer to a competitor's platform. That's how intrinsic experience has become to e-commerce.

As a result, marketplaces are always on the lookout for the next big thing that can redefine their customer experience. And nine times out of ten, it involves inventively using data to find areas for improvement, driving AI/ML models for predictive analysis, or A/B testing new features. 

Whatever it may be, as an e-commerce platform, you need to understand that you're storing and using customer data, which has become akin to oil in today's digitally driven world. 

The point we're trying to make is if you're using customer data to drive decisions, protecting the data is also an onus that falls upon your shoulders. 

Given the fact that there was a 195% increase in bot attacks and a 29% increase in human-initiated attacks on e-commerce sites, it’s safe to say that online marketplaces are hackers’ favorites. 

To reiterate the point, you need to have a security infrastructure in place that puts safeguarding customer data first. To help you out, here are some security strategies that e-commerce companies need to have in place. 

Review your SSL and PCI Compliance

When it comes to securing online transactions, SSL is the de facto standard, essential to establish a secure connection between your website and end-user systems. 

Once in place, you can move your website from HTTP to HTTPS, which is a prerequisite for establishing a trust signal for users to provide their personal and credit card information. 

Talking about card information, PCI-DSS ( Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is also an industry standard that your platform must comply with, as it ensures that your card information is stored and transmitted securely. 

Isolate Sensitive Data from Personal Data

Personal data only becomes an issue when it is, well, personal. 

Think about this, even if a malicious entity were to stumble upon a credit card number, they could only do damage so long as they get access to the expiry date, CVV, and the user’s name. 

If the data isn’t attributed to any single user and is kept isolated, there’s no real incentive to tap into it unethically. 

Therefore, this isolation practice is a must for e-commerce platforms looking to up their data security game.

Harness Behaviour Analytics to Pinpoint Suspicious Behavior

Behavior analytics can be your first point of defense when it comes to e-commerce security. 

What it does is create a baseline normal functionality and compare that with the user profiles and processes. If user behavior deviates from the baseline, it can be a flag or suspicious behavior, providing further leverage to quantify the said risky behaviors.

 

This enables rapid recognition, investigation, and response, ultimately reducing the chances of a successful attack that targets personal information.

Make Sure You’re Up To Date

Attackers identify weak points. Software engineers patch them. That’s the cycle of updation that all platforms are bound to. If you’ve opted for e-commerce management system, the provider will take care of the updates for you. 

However, if you’re doing it in-house, you are responsible for implementing any updates, vulnerability patches, and bug fixes to the software that powers your store. 

Review and Audit

From time to time, take an inventory of all the 3rd-party solutions that you’ve integrated with your platform. Ensure that you can continue with the same level of trust in the solution. 

If you’re no longer making use of these solutions, it’s best to dump the integration. The idea here is to allow the least number of third-party entities to have access to your consumer data. The lesser the number of integration, the lesser the loose ends. 

BONUS tip: Ready Your Defenses Before Holiday Season Strikes

The holiday season is a time when e-commerce websites observe a spike in traffic. Unfortunately, it’s also a time when higher volumes of cybercrime and fraud take place, which is obvious, given the huge amount of footfall and the increased load on the systems. 

Moreover, as the streets of the e-commerce platforms get crowded, it becomes harder to detect any anomaly behavior, as most of the technical efforts are spent ensuring that the systems are ready for the festive fever. 

Attackers know this and see it as an opportunity. But now, you know this as well.


Summing Up

Developing a robust e-commerce security ecosystem is vital to the success of your online business. After all, you can’t afford to lose your customers’ trust by exposing their personal data. 

Therefore, we think it’s best to outsource your security efforts to a third-party provider and focus your efforts on things that matter the most - improving your offerings and growing your business. 

But you can still create a culture of cyber hygiene in your organization and review your third-party integrations from time to time to remain on your front foot against cyber threats. 

By doing so, you can provide your audience with an experience that they can truly trust as well as enjoy.