# **CYBER SECURITY FOR E-COMMERCE: SECURITY AND TRUST**


E-commerce (electronic commerce) security is a part of Information Security specifically applied to the protection of E-commerce assets from unauthorized access, data security, privacy and secure online transactions. The rapid evolution of technologies have made the booming in E-commerce sector. E-Commerce security allows people to buy and sell services and products online with a framework in place that provides security for all the parties involved. Due to the inclusive coverage of geographical area and ease of accessibility, numerous retails and Businesses migrated to E-commerce.

## **SIGNIFICANCE OF CYBER SECURITY FOR E-COMMERCE**

With more consumers making purchases from the comfort of their home, it is an important time more than ever to secure businesses against cyber security threats. Security for E-Commerce doesn’t depend on the size of the Organization. Even an Organization with small number of customers can be compromised.For any type of businesses, the long term damage to the brand from an E-commerce breach can be challenging for any Organization to recover from. According to Fundera research ([30 Surprising Small Business Cyber Security Statistics [2021] | Fundera](https://www.fundera.com/resources/small-business-cyber-security-statistics)), 60% of small businesses that are victims of a cyber attack go out of business within six months and Cybercrime costs small and medium businesses more than $2.2 million a year.

As Covid 19 pandemic continue to disrupt business operations and impact revenue throughout the industry, many Businesses shift to online retails or e-commerce for the first time. As a result there are now more data — both in public and private. When the required security features are not implemented on an e-commerce sites, both online merchants and customers are at serious risk for payment fraud, phishing, scam, data breaches and other different major threats. Attackers usually target E-commerce store databases, admins, users, and employees using countless malicious techniques. Due to the rapid rise in numbers of consumers, E-commerce sites will always be a juicy target for attackers.

## **E-COMMERCE SECURITY THREATS**

#### **MALWARE:**
Malware also known as “malicious software”, is a file or code typically distributed over a network, that infects, explores, steals or conducts virtually any behavior an attacker desire. There are various types of Malwares such as: Viruses, Trojans, Worms, Trojans, Rootkits, Remote Administrative Tools (RATs), Botnets, Spyware, Adware, Ransomware and any type of malicious code that infiltrates a computer system. Malware cost e-commerce Business owners millions in lost revenue every year. Consumers sometimes unintentionally and unsuspectingly download malware on the E-commerce platform through infected extensions, free software bundles, and even by simply using a free, open unsecured public Wi-Fi network.

#### **ONLINE FINANCIAL FRAUD:**

It is an illegal financial transaction made on an e-commerce platform by Criminals without the account owner’s knowledge. Online Financial fraud is continuously increasing, and alternative payment methods are attracting criminals. Some criminals also file requests for fake refunds or returns. Refund fraud is a common financial fraud where businesses refund illegally attained or damaged goods or products. Various other types on Online Financial threat are Chargeback fraud, Identity theft, Credit card fraud, merchant fraud ,phishing, vishing, e-skimming. It is vital for the Businesses to understand and help prevent consumers from this kind of threats to avoid losses in finances, market shares, and reputations.

#### **DISTRIBUTED DENIAL OF SERVICES (DDOS) ATTACK:**

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to make an online service unavailable to users often by disrupting the services or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic. NETSCOUT’s ATLAS Security Engineering & Response Team (ASERT) done an extensive research on DDOS attack and observed that more than 10 million DDOS attacks happen on 2020 ([Cyber Security & Threat Intelligence Report | NETSCOUT](https://www.netscout.com/threatreport)) .Many e-commerce websites have incurred losses due to disruptions in their website and overall sales because of DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks.

#### **COMMON WEB VULNERABILITIES:**

E-commerce businesses need a specific type of web applications to fulfill the requirements of their consumers. Due to the complexity of design, user ease of accessibility and data it handles , it is often the main target for Criminals. It is recommended to have Security audit on E-commerce websites regularly for Common web vulnerabilities from lists like OWASP top 10 web application security risk ([OWASP Top Ten Web Application Security Risks | OWASP](https://owasp.org/www-project-top-ten/)) and SANS CWE top 25 ([Top 25 Software Errors | SANS Institute](https://www.sans.org/top25-software-errors/)). The benefits of consulting Cyber Security services like WALNUT SECURITY SERVICES is that it helps protect Organizations from such latest threats.

#### **HUMAN ERROR:**

It is often said that Humans represent the weakest link in a security chain. Human error is one of the leading cause of data and security breaches. According to research done by Ponemon Institute on cost on data breach report across based on quantitative analysis of 524 recent breaches across 17 geographies and 17 industries, it is found that 23% of major data breaches are caused by Human Error ([Cost of a Data Breach Study | IBM](https://www.ibm.com/in-en/security/data-breach)).


Fig: Human Error contribute to 23% of malicious attacks which caused majority of data breaches.

## **HOW ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD SECURE THEMSELVES 24x7x364**

#### **HTTPS AND SSL CERTIFICATES**
The main benefits of using SSL Certificates is to encrypt sensitive data shared across the internet. If SSL certificate encryption is absent, any electronic devices between the sender and receiver/server can access sensitive data. The use of HTTPS protocol will enable encryption of exchanged data, data integrity and authentication for the users. Online shoppers are also becoming familiar to HTTPS and probably not shop on a website that does not have HTTPS.

#### **IMPLEMENT SECURITY STANDARDS AND COMPLIANCES**

To ensure the safety of both client’s data and customers data, it is crucial to follow compliances and standards such as PCI-DSS, ISO, GDPR,HIPAA etc .

#### **FIREWALL, ANTI-MALWARE, ANTI VIRUS**

Adding security softwares like Firewall, Anti-malware, Anti viruses can help protect your asset to some extend but Criminals always have their way to get around any security. Zero day vulnerabilities are another types of such exploit that can easily penetrate a system security while bypassing malware detection.

#### **EDUCATING EMPLOYEES**

To stop errors made through social engineering and to raise awareness of the potential caused by negligence, technology and processes must be combined with employee awareness training. This way, employees are aware of the threats they face on daily basis and the part they are expected to play in guarding against them.

## **BENEFITS OF CYBER SECURITY SERVICES IN E-COMMMERCE**

Cyber Security Services provide wide-range of digital protection and will ensure the safety of the e-commerce platform at risk from any potential threats. New types of Cyber Security challenges are developing every minute. The AV-TEST research institute for IT security registers over 350,000 new malicious programs (malware) and potentially unwanted applications everyday ([Malware Statistics & Trends Report | AV-TEST](https://www.av-test.org/en/statistics/malware/)). Up till May 2021 there has been a report of 1220.46 million total malware registered which roughly translates to around 300 new malwares every minute. The benefits of cyber security services is that through a convenient and effective cyber security service, organizations can get complete insights into the cyber security threats that can damage the business’s assets thereby enhancing a secure environment.

**WALNUT SECURITY SERVICES** *can help develop a secure E-commerce platform for the success of your business. Hardening and securing the servers, backing up the site files and databases, auditing Web Applications for vulnerabilities and security assessment, authentications and ensuring the safety of both the client’s and customer’s data are the major benefits of consulting Cyber Security services. Investing more in E-commerce security has become a vital requirement for any online businesses now.*
Better safe than Sorry

#### Henry Chhingkhuma | Walnut Security Services