Enhance E-commerce Security to Prevent Costly Financial Losses

Poll after poll reveals the biggest concern facing the typical e-commerce business. It is cyber-security threats due to the rise in mobile access to e-commerce websites.

And it is not only mobile users who are at risk. So are the companies they deal with, and this makes the problem twice as challenging.

Mobile security threats are only part of the cyber security problem e-commerce enterprises face. When added to existing risks, many online startups could encounter huge losses if they do not find a suitable way to prevent attacks. A security platform like Strixus could be just the answer these businesses need.

How Mobile Access Is Impacting E-commerce

Massive Alliance is the creator of the Strixus cyber security service. When conducting cyber threat assessment, the company said that e-commerce’s biggest mobile danger comes from hacked customer accounts.

CEO Brook Zimmatore explains:

Small or enterprise e-commerce platforms are most actively exploited through vulnerabilities which allow cyber criminals access to the e-commerce databases of user information. Some exploits even allow for real-time siphoning of data flows and traffic of users actively on the store.

Zimmatore says:

What generally happens is that this customer’s personal information, passwords, purchases and sometimes credit card information can be captured before it is encrypted, which then makes it high value for sale. Threat actors have even been known to then impersonate store customers and make purchases on their behalf.

He continues, “Where does that leave the company that sold them a product, and who was exploited? While insurance covers the financial institution for their losses, it can occur that major banks will go after the site owner or company if a huge number of sales happen to be disputed.

“Additionally, regulatory action may also be taken against that business because they failed in their commercial responsibility in data protection. This could potentially lead to a major lawsuit with severe consequences for that e-commerce business.”

PII Activity

What Zimmatore is referring to begins with the theft of personally identifiable information (PII). This theft happens to be the underlying reason why hackers went to such great lengths in 2015 to target so many financial institutions and health care providers. The hackers were looking for PII to use in order to gain access to people’s existing e-commerce accounts.

They also wanted to set up new fraudulent accounts in each person’s name. They would do so by using PII obtained through hacking those financial institutions and health care facilities and providers. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of an ethical business to ensure safe transactions for its customers.

Hackers Target Greater Numbers of E-commerce Sites

This problem has the potential to become extreme. Consider the fact that in the United States alone, e-commerce accounted for more than $27 billion in revenue last year. That is up more than 300% from the previous year. That number is expected to at least double when figures from 2016 come out at year’s end.

With that amount of money up for grabs, hackers have made their way into e-commerce computers and are using PII stored there to create accounts elsewhere. They are also trying to access those accounts with bots. The bots attempt combinations through trial and error to find passwords that match each account.

Keeping Hackers of PII at Bay

But with cyber security like that of Strixus, phishing for such information is virtually impossible. Because of the way in which the platform works, it is constantly aware of new threats as they arise. Strixus seeks potential dangers in order to provide the cyber security necessary to meet each threat. It does so through a combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and human interpretation.

E-commerce companies should make every effort to guard the information that their customers have entrusted to them. Consumer protection laws are in place in the U.S., so it really is the responsibility of e-commerce sites to ensure safe storage of customer data by investing in high-level cyber security. Otherwise, companies will face significant losses going forward.

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Luis Aureliano

Luis Aureliano, a business writer and financial analyst. With over 15 years of experience in global finance and an MBA in economics and management, Luis’s areas of expertise include business, marketing, communications, personal finance, macro economics, stocks and emerging markets.

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