Why Cybersecurity Should Be Your E-commerce’s Top Priority [Updated 2024]

Small-business owners sometimes wonder if they’re at risk of cyberattacks. After all, it seems criminals would be more likely to target a company with bigger funds, right? 

Unfortunately, people live in a time of high tech, putting all companies at risk — no matter their size. Cybersecurity should be something every brand looks at if they have any information online at all. E-commerce stores definitely must work on better practices. 

Why Is Cybersecurity More Important Than Ever?

According to Statista, more than 353 million people had their personal information compromised in 2023. The pandemic meant more individuals working from home, more businesses going to an online mode and more opportunities for cyberthieves to gain access to information. 

Cybersecurity should be a top concern for e-commerce companies. Nearly everything you do involves digital data. A breach could be catastrophic to a small online store. Here are the things you should do to ensure your site remains as safe as possible. 

1. Back Everything Up

Last year, companies spent about 17% more on security breaches than the year before. The increase may be from more remote workers, but any downtime or loss of customers due to an incident can cost your company money. 

Even if another company takes over your website, you can regain control if everything is backed up. You may need to hire a professional to get your site back online, but you’ll have a recent copy and will only be down and losing revenue for a limited time.

You can easily automate backups with plugins and software. However, you should also back up your entire site occasionally so your server can restore from clean copy. 

2. Only Collect What You Must Have

Rules such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Act mean you can be fined if you fail to comply with its rules for keeping consumer data safe. Even though the GDPR is a regulation of the European Union (EU), it is written in a way that applies to companies worldwide that do business with EU citizens. 

One way to protect your customers’ information is to gather only the data you need to complete an order. Don’t store too much detail if you won’t need it again. The less information you put online, the less hackers will gain if they break into your accounts. 

3. Talk to Your Web Hosting Company

Where you store your website and databases makes a difference in your vulnerability. Highly skilled hackers can breach nearly any network around 93% of the time — fortunately, most hackers are amateurs. 

Take the time to find out what protections your hosting company has. At a minimum, it should have firewalls and programs that alert it to attacks via backdoor methods. It should update software and back up servers in case of a disaster. 

A handful of inexpensive hosts don’t track what people on shared hosting networks do. This opens your site up to hackers accessing your files. Ensure your host monitors all activity around the clock. 

4. Train Employees and Customers

Using strong passwords and changing them frequently is the first step to keeping hackers out. An experienced cybercriminal will get into your files if your password is easy to guess, leading to password phishing and other scams. 

The more prepared your team is to avoid a cyberattack, the fewer you’ll experience. Use training sessions to educate your staff about these emerging threats and the latest phishing tactics. You can even implement a simulated attack to see how prepared they are to identify threats. Addressing cybersecurity is key and must be an ongoing priority within your organization.

5. Use Secure Socket Layers

A secure socket layer (SSL) is a component that authenticates web applications using a public key certificate. The https address encrypts information, deciphers it and transports it to the user. 

You don’t need to understand all the ins and outs of SSL encryption to use it to protect customers’ payment and personal information. While 67% of consumers choose sites for competitive pricing, many will only buy from one with SSL encryption. They know to look for the lock icon and see if the website is safe. Some computer antivirus programs also prevent users from entering sites without an SSL. 

This setting may keep customers’ data safe, but it also impacts your search engine ranking. Google prioritizes secure websites in its search results. Therefore, sites with SSL certificates may attract more traffic since they help their stores rank higher

6. Update Your Site

Make it a habit to update your site every day or so or set it to automatically install changes. Many updates for content management programs, such as WordPress, are for security fixes. The last thing you want is to expose your site to hackers when updating takes little effort. 

One word of caution — always back up your site before you update. You can set everything to work in the background so you don’t have to think about it. Schedule backups every night and updates immediately after. You’ll have the last working copy to restore if your site crashes due to an update. 

7. Use Third-Party Payment Gateways

Third-party payment gateways come with built-in security features that can further protect your customers and business. These platforms often include encryption, fraud detection and secure authentication processes. Most shopping cart systems integrate with payment options like Stripe, PayPal or your local bank.

Research the fees for each type of service and see which one best suits your needs as an e-commerce store. Leveraging these services allows you to offload the handling of financial data while gaining access to a suite of security measures. 

Implementing such a task on your own can be complex and costly. However, a quality gateway service can make this process easy and safe. Plus, many buyers prefer to use these platforms since they know how they work.

Make Changes Today

It’s easy to forget cybersecurity until an incident happens. Don’t wait to ramp up your security until it’s too late. Start making the small changes today that will keep your e-commerce store safe and successful for many years to come.