Ecommerce businesses face many different kinds of cybersecurity risks as attacks become increasingly sophisticated and more frequent. Malware, viruses, bad bots, and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are just some of the threats they face. Not only large businesses are targets because small businesses usually have more security weaknesses cybercriminals can exploit. Educate employees One of the best steps ecommerce businesses can take is to educate employees about data security and privacy practices to protect customer data. For example, information sessions about how to identify suspicious emails can help to reduce phishing attacks. Kaspersky predicts there will be more focus in the future on targeted ransomware. Attackers can install ransomware, a type of malware or malicious software, on a system and lock victims out until the attacker receives a ransom. In this way, they can get a big payment from a major company rather than many small payments from random victims. Educating employees on how to use company hardware and software will minimize malware threats. This includes installing antimalware software, avoiding downloading suspicious files and making regular computer checkups for virus removal and optimal performance. Malware is the blanket term for viruses, trojans and any codes that enter your system to corrupt or destroy the files or programs. Therefore, you need to keep your laptops and PCs in the best health. Maintain a strong password policy A 2020 Verizon data breach investigation reports that 37% of data breaches are due to weak or stolen credentials. Some of the most common attacks include phishing, credential stuffing, brute force, and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. Brute force attacks involve using a program to generate passwords until hitting the right ones. Ecommerce businesses work with customer data all the time, so they need to have a physically powerful password policy in place. Employers must know how to create strong passwords that are at least eight characters long and a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special symbols. Employees should change passwords at least every three months and never share them. Regularly review all third-party integrations and plugins E-commerce businesses usually use various third-party solutions within their stores. They need to keep an inventory of them and constantly assess whether the level of trust they place in them is warranted. They are responsible for implementing any vulnerability patches to the software powering a store, implementing updates and fixing bugs. When third-party solutions are no longer used, removing the integration is the best practice. The fewer third parties that have access to customer data, the better. Some plugins may have potential security weaknesses, so it is important to know more about them and their security before installing them. Websites that have outdated plugins are prime targets for attackers, so it’s important to keep them updated. For example, to sell products online the ecommerce business related to event tickets needs to make sure the online ticketing system offers good security. Every ticket sold should be tagged with a unique, scannable QR code to help prevent fraud. Enable two-factor authentication for sensitive accounts Two-factor authentication can help to prevent phishing attacks that involve sending a compelling email with a link that takes users to a fake website where they type in a username and password. Attackers take advantage of the fact that users often have the same password for multiple sites and can gain access to multiple sites and apps with credential stuffing. Inserting a program between a user and an app is called a man-in-the-middle attack, and it allows an attacker to gather login credentials. Two-factor authentication requires users to enter their login details, and another piece of information, such as a code sent to their phones. This helps businesses to protect ag...