Cybercrime is a scary reality for almost anyone. Criminals equal and sometimes exceed the technological prowess of authorities, continuing to show they can get past almost any security system if they try. The ones who are safe are well-researched and pay close attention to their security measures.
Next to corporate business, retail is one of the most popular industries threatened by cybercrime. This puts eCommerce at risk. If you want to protect your business, work with eCommerce professionals to design a safe website so you can carefully monitor your finances. This article outlines cybercrime today and provides some tips to protect your company.
The Reality
Ponemon institute surveyed more than 1,100 IT practitioners in the US and UK. They reported that only 36% of respondents used automated forensic tools to detect business logic abuse, and that more than half were not able to detect the presence of a criminal. Cybercrime cases had only increased. The ThreatMetrix Cybercrime report monitored one billion transactions globally each month and found that 36 million fraud attempts in eCommerce had been stopped.
Up to $3 billion could have been stolen had these attacks been successful. A consequential risk for eCommerce companies is that shoppers will experience trepidation towards online shopping. While this may not happen to every retail website, a few cases of fraud and theft at your company are enough for a bad reputation to spread like wildfire.
Maximising your Security
In addition to consulting IT professionals and authorities, follow these tips to protect yourself from digital infiltration: Dedicated web hosting is safer than shared hosting: If you run a server with multiple hosts (shared) you run the risk of one of your own team members committing a crime from the inside. If you’re the owner, a dedicated hosting plan ensures you will be the one in charge.
Educate your employees:
Make sure your workers understand the risks. Even if they can’t stop criminals, it helps if they can detect something suspicious.
Cybercrime & data encryption:
Encrypting your data basically means hiding sensitive information. Passwords and credit card information are the kind of data that travel across the web, and cybercriminals can spy on transactions. It’s much more difficult for them to decode encrypted data.
When an attack occurs:
If you discover your business has been hacked, you need to take action in order to prevent further damage. Freeze any accounts you can and observe credit reports for fraudulent activity. Following this, hire an investigator to assess the situation. ECommerce is big business, and there are many precautions you can take to protect yourself. The more aware you are, the better protected you’ll be and your customers will feel they’re in safe hands.
