If you own an online retail store, you know just how much work is required to run a successful operation. While most of your effort will be focused on marketing and generating sales, there is one area you cannot overlook: security. You might believe that having anti-virus software in place is enough, but this is far from the case. Malicious attackers are becoming more sophisticated with each passing day, developing new and inventive ways to bypass security.
To guarantee you win the battle against cyberattacks – and keep your data and money safe in the process – there are various steps to take. For a starting point, here are four important tips for improving the security of your online retail store:
Ensure employees know the dangers
If you’re not going it alone and have employees working for the store, the main line of defence against cyberattacks is simple: their knowledge of the situation.
When you consider employees are your last line of defence against hackers and malicious code, they must know how to avoid such threats. Because even if they simply click on an unsuspecting URL link, this could lead to a hacker gaining access to their login credentials, and your online store data is suddenly up for grabs.
As a result, cybersecurity awareness training is a necessity. Always educate your employees about the dangers of the Internet, as this can protect against a lot of heartaches in the future.
Continue to update your website
Whenever an update pops up for your eCommerce platform or plug-in, there’s always the temptation to avoid this and continue as normal. After all, your store is functioning fine right now – why potentially disrupt its functionality with an update?
Well, there’s one big reason: hackers prey on those who use outdated software. The reason for this is that, due to it no longer receiving updates and patches, the software is not protected against the latest cyberattacks. As a result, always keep your website up-to-date to prevent such attacks.
Use strong passwords
Even though every website you sign-up to suggests a strong password, it’s surprising how often this advice is ignored. However, when it comes to your online store, you absolutely need strong passwords for yourself and your employees.
If not, your website could suffer from a brute force hack. This hack is one that exploits weak passwords to gain entry. To stop this from happening, take into account the following tips for a strong password:
- Ensure each password is at least 12 characters long.
- Use a mixture of symbols, numbers, lower-case letters, and capital letters
- Never duplicate the password for other accounts.
- Update the password every two-three months.
Always have backups at the ready
As much as you want to avoid it, and despite the security plan you put in place, there’s always the possibility of your online store being hacked.
Thankfully, there are preventative measures you can put into place to limit the damage. One way is with backups. By regularly backing up your website, you can revert to the latest backup and cancel out the damage caused by a hack.
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