Top Security and Privacy Issues with e-commerce application testing

Testrig Technologies
5 min readOct 31, 2022

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A popular victim of cyberattacks will continue to be e-commerce platforms. They are troves of personal and financial data for this would hackers. And the cost of a breach, including the loss of information as well as the erosion of client confidence, can be hugely expensive to businesses of all sizes.

Owners of e-commerce businesses are becoming more vigilant about security since they are all too aware of these problems. According to the VMWare Carbon Black 2020 Cybersecurity Outlook Report, 77% of the organizations polled had bought new security equipment in the previous year, and 69% had hired more security personnel.

Cyber attackers constantly hone their skills and look for new weaknesses to exploit in this game of cat and mouse while online merchants add more cutting-edge technologies to their websites to remain competitive. Understanding eCommerce security best practices and the many sorts of threats to watch out for is the best way to remain ahead of the game.

The Worst Security Risks to Your Online Marketplace

It would be nearly difficult to explore all of the many types and tactics used in cyber attacks in one blog article. However, several stand out as being the most crucial to be aware of for robust e-commerce security.

1. Scamming.

Phishing is a sort of social engineering that describes techniques used by attackers to deceive victims into disclosing sensitive information such as passwords, account numbers, social security numbers, and more — generally over email, text message, or phone.

2. Ransomware and malware.

You can lose access to all of your crucial data and systems if malware or ransomware, a kind of malware, infects your device or network. Although downtime is costly, regular backups of your site’s data can help prevent it from becoming a fatal blow to your company. Additionally, you may increase your defenses against assaults by avoiding clicking on dubious links and downloading unidentified applications.

3.SQL

If your e-commerce site saves data in a SQL database insecurely, you might be in danger. A malicious query inserted into a packed payload, if not adequately checked, might grant the attacker access to see and potentially change any data in a database.

4. XSS

The act of XSS entails injecting malicious code, most frequently JavaScript, into a webpage. The users of that page, or your customers, would be affected by this assault, which unlike some other types of attacks would expose them to malware, phishing efforts, and other threats.

5. Online skimming

E-skimming is a technique for collecting personal data and credit card numbers from e-commerce websites’ payment card processing pages. Attackers acquire access to your website through a successful phishing effort, a brute force assault, an XSS, or a third-party breach. Once inside, they grab the payment information your customers provide on the checkout page in real time.

Optimum Best Practices For E-commerce Security

The previously indicated compliance requirements still exist. As people of all ages become more worried about where their data is going, trends in privacy concerns suggest that we might expect additional legislation in the future.

An in-depth analysis of retail cyberattack patterns is provided in this Data Breach Investigations Report. The most common target is found to be payment information, and e-commerce assaults are on the increase even while point-of-sale hacks and card skimmers are generally on the down.

The fines and damage to your brand name that might result from a security breach on your e-commerce site that results in the loss of client data could be catastrophic.

1. Use secure, one-of-a-kind passwords, and make sure your clients do likewise.

A whopping 37% of credential theft breaches used weak or stolen credentials, according to the 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. Making ensuring you, your staff, and your clients follow sound procedures for creating secure passwords is worthwhile:

-Strong passwords feature upper- and lowercase letters, digits, and symbols, and they have at least eight characters.

-Never share a password; each user should have their own, private username and password for login.

-Never use the same password or other login information for your e-commerce site and other websites.

-Think about utilizing a password manager.

2. Keep your technology safe.

Whether you have a single computer in your home office or a large networked computer system at your business headquarters, make sure your linked devices are secure online by using firewalls, antivirus software, or other suitable threat-reduction measures.

3. Resist attempts at social engineering.

Avoiding phishing traps is one of the greatest strategies to prevent malware infestations. Never divulge any kind of personal information without first confirming the recipient’s identification. Furthermore, no trustworthy company would ever request that you give your password.

4. Add more factors for authentication.

Utilizing 2-step verification, 2-factor authentication, or multi-factor authentication provides you further confidence that you and your authorized users are the only ones accessing your shop, even if it might occasionally feel like a nuisance. It’s worthwhile taking the risk given the possible repercussions of a breach.

5. Only keep the consumer information you need.

The golden rule for data storage is to never keep more than you require to run your organization effectively. But there are a lot of things to think about when determining what it means specifically for you.

6. Use HTTPS instead.

Your website will be more secure with secure HTTPS hosting, which needs an SSL certificate. Additionally, it’s advantageous for your marketing division because Google devalues HTTP-enabled websites in its organic search results. HTTPS conveys a strong message of trust to your customers, especially the tech-savvy ones.

7. Create a data backup.

A backup will be necessary to assist you to restart your business as soon as possible if you experience a breach and lose access to your data.

8. Constantly check the integrations and plugins.

Make a list of all the third-party applications you use in your shop. Make sure you are aware of them and evaluate how much you still have faith in that third party. Remove that integration from your shop if you are no longer utilizing them. The goal is to provide as few people access to your client’s data as possible while still advancing your business.

The development of strong e-commerce security is crucial for the success of your company. You cannot afford to expose your consumers’ personal information and risk losing their confidence. You gain the advantages of spending more time expanding your business and less time worrying about security monitoring and maintenance by utilizing a SaaS platform.

However, that doesn’t imply you have nothing to do. Even for merchants using our secure SaaS platform, maintaining excellent password hygiene, being cautious when opening links and downloading files from emails, and frequently checking your third-party connections are crucial.

You may provide your clients with a purchasing experience they can trust by adhering to the advice in this article and remaining informed of what’s occurring in the cybersecurity world.

Why does e-commerce testing outsourcing yield better production and quicker iteration? Click and contact us to explore the benefits of outsourcing e-commerce testing services

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Testrig Technologies
Testrig Technologies

Written by Testrig Technologies

As an independent software testing company, we provide modern quality assurance and software testing services to global clients.

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