Cyber hacking technology is constantly advancing, making it more important than ever to keep your Ecommerce Security up to date. You only have to look at the data breach at Equifax to see how dire the consequences of not updating security can be.

It’s estimated that around 143 million Equifax customers around the world were affected by the breach, a large majority of them being Americans. In addition to personal addresses, credit card details and dates of birth, hackers were also able to collect Social Security numbers. It was one of the most devastating breaches in years. But it could have easily been avoided.

So, why is it so important for you to maintain your e-commerce security?

1.  Establish trust

When it comes to ecommerce, the experience users have while browsing through your website will be the deciding factor in whether they trust the business well enough to make a purchase. Ideally, they should be able to tell if your website is secure just by looking at it.

Secure websites will have a padlock at the top right of the screen. If this isn’t present, users may be wary about entering personal details at the checkout. Without trust being established on the first visit, you could lose a potential customer for good.

2.  Human error

When all is said and done, your employees are still human. It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re having an off day. However, making a mistake with ecommerce security could lead to consequences that no business wants to deal with. The more thoroughly your employees are trained on Cyber Security, the less likely they are to make mistakes.

For instance, you can’t always assume that employees know not to open suspicious emails or download files that they’re unsure about. It’s important to train your employees in all aspects of cyber security so they’re aware of what to do and what not to do.

3.  Cyber hackers are lazy

If your website looks like Fort Knox, it’s likely that hackers will move onto an easier target. Hackers don’t want the hassle of figuring out how to penetrate your business. They want it laid on a plate. The sooner they get in and out with the goods, the less likely they are to be caught. If you make it easy for them, they’re going to see your business as a potential target.

The more ecommerce security you have in place, the harder it becomes for hackers to gain access to precious information. This is one of the main reasons that businesses should always update software as soon as updates become available.

4.  Keep customers happy

It’s one thing to establish trust with your customers. But it’s another task entirely to maintain that trust. With data and security breaches at the forefront of the news in the last few years, customers are now more vigilant than ever about who they give information to online. In fact, many people are now posting less information on their own private social media pages.

After it was discovered that Cambridge Analytica harvested personal information from 87 million Facebook users, social media platforms and businesses are under more pressure to protect data. Ecommerce businesses can often keep their customers happy by publicising what preventative measures are being taken to ensure the safety of their customer’s data.

5.  Customer education

Similar to your employees, you can’t always assume that your customers are up to date with the latest cyber security trends. There are times when you need your customers to work with you to create a website that is safe for everyone to use. Part of this involves educating customers about passwords or log in details.

Many ecommerce businesses now have strict guidelines on how to create a secure password. For example, it must contain at least one number and one capital letter. It can be frustrating for customers to be told how to put together a password, but they should be reminded that it’s for their own safety. These gentle nudges will allow each customer to create log in details that are difficult to guess and far more protected from a cyber hack.

6.  System testing

As part of your cyber security maintenance, it will be vital to regularly test your systems, including your host/platform. Without doing this, hackers could notice loopholes that you hadn’t been aware of. Testing your systems will allow you to create the best protection for your business and your customers.

However, there are further advantages to testing your systems. Updating and maintaining your cyber security by testing your systems can often reveal other potential problems with your website. Identifying these problems will allow you to always deliver a smooth and fuss-free service to your customers. The last thing you want is to find out you’ve lost customers because your website is running slow when it could have easily been avoided through testing.

How to maintain your cyber security

When it comes to cyber security, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. It’s easy for small ecommerce businesses to make the mistake of setting cyber security aside in favour of saving money. However, failing to make ecommerce security a priority will only cost more in the long run.

At Bing Digital, we put cyber security at the forefront of all our ecommerce services. We use Magento, an ultra-secure ecommerce platform packed with innovative security features. On top of that, our team of ecommerce experts is fully trained in all facets of cyber security.

If you’re unsure about the security of your ecommerce site, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. We can perform an audit of your store and recommend the best course of action to improve your ecommerce security, and other areas of the site.

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