Security Measures Online Businesses Should Take to Keep User Data Safe

Security Measures Online Businesses Should Take to Keep User Data Safe

Views - 4769
Leave a Comment

Security is one of the top-most concerns for consumers as well as businesses. In the age of the internet, where businesses are moving their operations online, cyber-security has become one of the top priorities among the populace. The year 2017 has been riddled with instances of data breaches and cyber-security attacks that have shaken up online businesses to the core. Let us take a closer look at them:

  • Education platform Edmodo was breached in May by a hacker who exposed 77 million accounts and put the database for sale on the dark web.
  • Wonga, the payday loans company, was hacked in April affecting more than one-quarter of a million lenders.
  • Font-sharing site DaFont was also breached by a hacker in May with usernames, email addresses, and hashed passwords of 699,000 user accounts being stolen.
  • WannaCry ransomware has plagued thousands in massive global cyber-attacks.
  • Tax and auditing giant Deloitte was hit by a cyber-attack, resulting in the theft of confidential documents and emails.
  • HBO faced data breach which resulted in 1.5TB of confidential data getting leaked.
  • Credit rating agency Equifax was hit by the mother of all hacks recently with more than 143 million consumers getting affected, which involved highly sensitive and personal information.
  • Last year, Yahoo admitted that it had been hacked few years ago, leaking account details of over one billion users, making it one of the biggest breaches of all time. Later, Yahoo admitted that the hack was more widespread and all its three billion accounts were actually accessed.

These are just some of the many online security breaches that happened in 2017 alone. With every passing year, these instances are not only growing in number but also in size. The bigger issue is that these data breaches not only result in user data getting leaked, but it also tarnishes the image of the business, which can even result in millions of dollars’ worth losses as well as corresponding lawsuits. This brings in the need for toughened security architecture to ensure that your online business is safe from unauthorized access.

Taking Strict Security Measures Is a Critical Business Practice in the Ecommerce Sector

Consider this, you launch an online business; pour in thousands of dollar, creating a robust website with all the necessary features. Go on a massive marketing splurge to rope in consumers to your platform. Soon you see growing numbers with your revenue rising substantially. While doing all of this, you never take security of your online business seriously (as many startups nowadays do). One day you are stuck with a massive data breach, with all the information of your users getting leaked. This results in your consumers losing faith in you, and moving to some competitor who offers them a secure environment.

This can happen to anyone and yet with ecommerce becoming so popular we are still not giving security the importance that it needs. Let us take a closer look at the practices that entrepreneurs should keep in mind to make their online businesses secure.

1. Urge users to change passwords after a given time.

It is often said that any entity is as secure as its weakest link and when it comes to user driven online businesses, many of the data breaches happen due to lackluster approach of users towards security who use the service. The best practice in that aspect is to urge users to change their password every few months. You can also incorporate two factor authentications for to ensure better security.

2. Monitor all traffic coming to your website

If proper monitoring of all the traffic is done on a regular basis, then it becomes easy for online businesses to ward off any type of snooping.  You can include a network analysis tool with your online platform and track all the traffic. This will also help you identify any unusual traffic coming to your website and block any form of unauthorized access.

Suggested ReadBest Security Tips from Pro Developers to Protect Website from Hackers

3. Provide a secure payment gateway

One of the biggest concerns of online users comes into play when they are making online transactions. To build trust among consumers and to ensure that all transactions happen in a secure environment, you must include a secure payment gateway. We at FATbit provide options in all our software solutions to include a secure payment gateway as well as multiple payment options.

4. Use HTTPS across the website

It has become customary for online businesses nowadays, especially ecommerce, to use https across their website. This keeps all the information safe from unauthorized access as all the information is sent in an encrypted form over a secure socket layer. It offers added benefits like confidentiality, integrity and identity to the users.

5. Conduct risk assessment

There are several security areas that are often overlooked by online business owners. In fact, the whole notion of using ready to launch software solutions is that one does not have to deal with technical knowledge. However, this does not mean that online business owners should not stay updated with the areas that are prone to risk. This would help them incorporate certain systems to prevent online fraud. By conducting risk assessment of your online business, it becomes easy for website owners to prevent any unwanted data breaches.

6. Update your software solution with latest vulnerability fixes regularly

Every other day, there is some form of vulnerability or exploits that come to the forefront. This year, there have been more than a half a dozen major exploits which affected online businesses as well as users. Wannacry ransomware attack was one such example due to a major exploit that affected several online businesses. This is why it is always advised to update your software solution with latest vulnerability fixes to ensure that your platform is secure with all the security fixes. We at FATbit regularly update all our products to ensure added security for businesses.

7. Invest in software solution built on secure architecture

As most online businesses opt for ready-made software solutions, it becomes essential for them to choose the one which focuses on security. This is why all the software solutions offering by FATbit technologies are built on a secure architecture. In addition, we use best practices while developing these platforms which offer them added security. Our solutions have stood the test of time and have come out with flying colors as the most secure ready-made software solutions for launching an online business.

Conclusion

In the current market dynamics, online businesses must start to take their security very seriously. Investing in a ready-made solution which offers a secure architecture and ensures that user data is not compromised is highly crucial. The bottom line is that no matter how much security you put in, there is no such thing as perfect security. The least we can do is ensure that all security checks as mentioned in this post are in place. Lastly, as a popular saying goes, “prevention is always better than cure”

Looking for ready-made solutions built on a secure architecture?

Disclaimer: The Blog has been created with consideration and care. We strive to ensure that all information is as complete, correct, comprehensible, accurate and up-to-date as possible. Despite our continuing efforts, we cannot guarantee that the information made available is complete, correct, accurate or up-to-date. We advise - the readers should not take decisions completely based on the information and views shared by FATbit on its blog, readers should do their own research to further assure themselves before taking any commercial decision. The 3rd party trademarks, logos and screenshots of the websites and mobile applications are property of their respective owners, we are not directly associated with most of them.


Leave a Comment


CAPTCHA Image
Reload Image