Online retail is one of the fastest-growing industries globally, but that makes it a huge target for hackers and digital scammers. E-Commerce stores sell products to millions of users from all over the world, thus forming a massive data breach potential that demands the highest level of caution and cyber-protection.
According to the report, there are more than 20 million online retail websites currently active on the Internet. If you are running an e-commerce business as well, you should know why your company has to improve cybersecurity measures. We will help you answer this question, but let’s check out the state of e-commerce first.
The Basics of E-Commerce and Cybersecurity
We already mentioned that e-commerce is gigantic, but the market size figure will tell you just how big it is. Statista reports that the global online retail industry is going to reach more than $4.2 trillion in 2020. This is exactly why so many fraudulent activities take place in the e-commerce world. After all, grabbing just a speck of the portion can make a hacker rich instantly.
Unlike the best essay writing service or similar businesses with low-income clients, online retailers work with lots of well-off customers and generate substantial income. In such circumstances, it’s not a surprise to see mind-boggling stats in the field of e-commerce security:
- Nearly 70% of retail companies have detected cyberattacks against their systems.
- 50% of businesses claim that attacks are getting more severe and more sophisticated.
- More than 30% of all eCommerce-related cybersecurity threats are successful.
- Cybercrime Magazine predicts that online retail will be one of the top 10 most attacked industries between 2019 and 2022.
- Cybercrime already made damage amounting to over $2 trillion.
The threat is there, but do you know the key reasons why online stores have to protect their businesses from malicious attacks? If not, keep reading to see five main reasons.
Practical Reasons to Invest in Cybersecurity
The importance of investing in cybersecurity seems obvious and intuitive, but you need to be aware of all the things that can go wrong in case of a successful malware attack. Here are five reasons to worry about security in online retail.
Financial damage
The first consequence of not protecting your e-commerce store is clear. If hackers gain access to your files and jeopardize the privacy of your clients, you will be facing serious financial damage.
Jake Gardner, a security expert at the UK Assignment Help, explains that hackers could steal your money or users’ credit card information: “This almost always leads to major losses both short and long-term. At the same time, your customers could sue the company for not being able to protect personal information.”
Losing professional credibility
Let’s say that you’ve recovered from a successful malware attack. You are now ready to keep working as usual, but do you expect consumers to trust your online business anymore? It’s hard to imagine anyone returning to your e-commerce store after losing money and/or personal data. On the other hand, stronger cybersecurity mechanisms will protect your credibility and help you to keep professional authority intact in the long run.
E-Commerce businesses are exposed globally
Traditional retail is much easier to protect because there are only so many people interested in robbing it locally. Online retail faces a much higher risk because e-commerce stores are usually based on cloud platforms. As such, they are exposed globally since hackers from all over the world can launch malware attempts. There are no geographical borders anymore and it makes cybersecurity more important than ever before.
Human errors will happen sooner or later
Cautious IT professionals will rarely ever make a security-related mistake, but typical e-commerce employees will make serious blunders sooner or later. Instead of relying on their agility and concentration, you should make use of automated security platforms to keep the business alive and kicking. This is the only way to minimize data breach risks and fortify your online store.
Comply with cybersecurity regulations
Ever since the Facebook data harvesting scandal was revealed, people started paying attention to compliance regulations such as GDPR. Even if you don’t want to protect the business itself – and you definitely should – you still have to protect users’ privacy.
How to Strengthen Your Cybersecurity Mechanisms?
Now that you understand how critical it is to invest in e-commerce security, you should learn one more thing and that is the strategy to protect your online store. How does cybersecurity in online retail function? There are many ways to keep your website safe and sound:
Use a reliable online commerce platform
As a digital retailer, you must be using external infrastructure to run your business. Online retail platforms such as Shopify or WooCommerce are very popular because they guarantee the highest level of protection and website functionality, but some entrepreneurs opt for a cheaper solution. This is not a good decision because unknown online shopping platforms proved to be more vulnerable than trustworthy systems.
Create strong passwords and utilize a two-factor authentication
Average users often consider password protection to be seriously overrated, but it is the easiest way to fend of malware attempts. Order your employees to use strong passwords exclusively and make them change passwords periodically. Besides that, you should utilize a two-factor authentication and add an extra layer of security.
Don’t ask for more information than you need
If you read papersowl.com reviews, you will realize that the company asks for relevant client-related information only. Your e-commerce store should do the same thing and focus solely on data needed to complete transactions.
Install antivirus software and run security tests regularly
Another thing you must do is to install antivirus software. It will automate cybersecurity and run regular tests to check for suspicious behavior.
Back up your data
Every e-commerce platform is administering huge data volumes. To keep it all safe and sound, you must back up your data and ensure access to information in case of an emergency. That way, your business won’t be at risk even if you experience a security breach.
Organize meetings with your staff to discuss cybersecurity measures
According to a study by IBM, human error is the main cause of 95% of cybersecurity breaches. What does it tell you? The answer is clear – it tells you to educate your staff and keep them updated about the latest online security features. We suggest organizing occasional meetings with your employees to discuss the latest cybersecurity news and exchange safety-related information.
Don’t forget to run software updates
Outdated software versions can also cost you a lot, so don’t forget to run an update every time you see a notification. If possible, it would be perfect to enable automatic updates and make sure that the system is fresh 365 days a year.
Invest in cybersecurity insurance
Cybersecurity insurance is a product that is offered to individuals and businesses to protect them from the effects and consequences of online attacks. It is worth investing because it helps companies overcome malicious attacks and guarantees quick recovery.
Consult with professionals
What do you do when you can’t write an essay alone? You probably consult the top essay writing service and invite them to help you. The same goes for e-commerce leaders who don’t know how to set up online security mechanisms – they should call IT professionals and seek expert help.
Prepare for the worst-case scenario
The last tip we have for you is to stay alert and prepare for the worst-case scenario. No matter how hard you try, sometimes it is almost impossible to stop hackers and prevent incidents. You should at least have a backup plan and know how to react in this case.
The Bottom Line
Online retail stores need to take care of cybersecurity because they must protect both the customers and themselves. As the number of malicious attacks keeps growing, a safety-first approach becomes the only way to stay competitive and preserve professional authority.
In this post, we showed you the current state of cybersecurity in e-commerce and discussed five main reasons to invest in online protection mechanisms. Make sure to protect your online store as soon as possible.
