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Although running an e-commerce platform can save you on store rental and labour costs, it brings with it security threats that need careful attention. Whether you’ve just started an online store or have been running an e-commerce business for a while now, here are some of the top threats that have stayed relevant and what you can do to steer your business away from them.
The growing prevalence of cyber space across many industries offers cyber criminals a wider platform for committing frauds. In fact, a recent study by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) revealed a spike of global cyber threats in 2020. These cyber attacks were targeted at data security, e-commerce platforms, vaccine-related operations and contact tracing efforts.
It was also proven that the growth of e-commerce platforms was the main factor in accelerating cyber crimes. Almost 62% of the recorded cyber attacks were facilitated by the online transactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, if you are an e-commerce business owner, it’s high time to be aware of the following cyber attacks that could put your business to a halt.
Phishing is one of more common cyber threats used to steal user data like login credentials and credit card details. In this form of attack, hackers usually pose as a reputable figure or someone that the victim knows to gain their trust. They will then send a suspicious email to the victim, in the hopes of fooling them to download malicious software or send data/money.
Recently, hackers have found another way to successfully carry out phishing scams by creating fake copies of reputable pages. Should a customer be fooled and provide sensitive information for a supposed transaction, the hacker can then access their bank account.
Bots, specifically malicious bots, are the most rampant and harmful programs that threaten e-commerce businesses. Often responsible for scams from an installation of malware, these nefarious bots have been around for some time now – attacking sites by posting spams, inflating traffic, distorting product rankings, or writing false reviews.
With the ability to distort information, bots can modify the prices on their competitors’ websites in an attempt to reduce the latter’s sales and revenue. To avoid the impact of malicious bots on your e-commerce business, consider looking into CAPTCHA to secure your website against threatening bots.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) is another form of cyberattack to disrupt the traffic of a targeted server or network. In a DDoS attack, hackers flood the victim’s server with requests that typically come from untraceable IP addresses. These requests cause your system to crash and experience downtime. Besides exposing your network to further vulnerabilities, downtime also results in opportunity costs because of a drop in client visits.
What is more alarming is that hackers who carry out DDoS attacks usually threaten their victims to pay a ransom in exchange for restoring their services. To avoid being victimised by DDoS attackers, the best cybersecurity solution you can adopt is to monitor all incoming requests and traffic on your web servers closely.
Malware, or malicious malware, is an umbrella term for various programs installed on a computer without the user’s knowledge. These programs include viruses, ransomware and backdoors.
Viruses are the most infamous malware that can destroy or corrupt your data. Ransomware, on the other hand, disables the functionality of your computer system, while backdoors unlock your authentication process to open doors for data theft. To prevent your system from being destroyed by malware, it’s best to install a secure firewall.
Just like malware, skimming also involves the use of malicious software in conducting a cyber attack. However, in skimming, the main target is the data of your customers by infecting your website’s checkout pages. The goal of this attack? Hackers wait and glean at your customers’ sensitive data (such as credit card numbers) as they make the transaction.
Hackers get a hold of confidential data in real-time – either for instant use or at a later date. To mitigate the threats of skimming, secure your website and constantly remind your customers to avoid sharing sensitive information online unless the webpage is legitimate.
Staying ahead of cyber attackers means roping in robust cybersecurity solutions. The most efficient way to do so is to entrust your IT servers to a team of professional and highly qualified experts who can offer around-the-clock protection for your e-commerce business. From CREST-certified penetration testing services to AI-driven web application firewall, GROUP8 is here to evaluate your security posture with the latest cyber trends.