We all benefit from opportunities the digital age has brought to us. Some of us are working in the comfort of their homes because when a job is output-based, why would you need to go to an office. There are others who earn a significant profit from blogging about their favourite travel destinations, films, and books. And then there are those who are making a sizeable amount by selling their products and services through their eCommerce website.
Indeed, having your very own eCommerce website can yield up to five to six figures in profit. All you need to do is to execute your digital marketing strategies, promote your products incessantly, and offer hard-to-miss deals and you’re on your way to a successful business. The only caveat are the hackers and phishers who mean to steal from you.
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These cyber attackers like to steal sensitive information like credit card details, names, addresses, and anything that can do harm both to your customers and to your business. Fortunately, there are ways in which you can ensure the safety and security of your website.
Choose your hosting service
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Choosing your website’s host is not merely about which one can help your website perform faster, especially when there is an influx of customers. What you want is a hosting service that has a good backup system so that your website, in the event that it is breached, can be restored easily. Look at the features of your current hosting service and see if it includes 24/7 assistance and a RAID data protection which will create the backup copy of your website.
Purchase an SSL certificate and use HTTPS
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Using HTTPS will ensure that your website will not fall victim to online fraud. However, before setting this up, you will have to purchase an SSL certificate.
SSL or Secure Sockets Layer encrypts the data being exchanged between you and your customer. If you or the user gets hacked in between transactions, the hacker will only get random characters because they do not have the right encryption key. Once you have the SSL certificate and your website is using HTTPS, you will see a bright green ‘Secure’ right next to your domain name. This tells your customers that their information can safely be shared on your website.
Do not save sensitive customer information
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Of course, once they have shared their confidential information with you, make sure that you do not store any of them on your website. It does not matter if you have the SSL certificate in place already, storing sensitive information might risk compromise. What you can do is use what is called ‘tokenization.’ Just like SSL, it creates random numbers called tokens in place of the information shared with you. This is an effective way to prevent the date from being stolen and credit card fraud.
Consistently scan website for vulnerabilities
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At least once a week, perform a vulnerability audit on your website to ensure you are on top of your security measures. This reduces that chances of opportunities for hackers to get into your website without you knowing. There are different tools that you can use to scan your website, like plugins or built-in features your eCommerce platform is offering. You can checkout programs like MBSA or OpenVAS.
Be PCI DSS Compliant
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PCI DSS or Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a set of security standard created by major credit card brands. It is meant to reduce cases of online credit card frauds through full admin control over sensitive customer data. If you are PCI DSS compliant, you will be able to detect and prevent breaches before hackers can steal the data from your website.
Other than these tips, make sure your take regular backups of your website and you consistently update your security systems. You need to build trust and credibility with your customers, and it starts with making sure they can share their information without worries. Set these security measures up now and make online transactions with you safe.
