Even though globalization and technology improved the ease of doing business, some risks are still present. One of the most common risks is data security, especially for e-commerce businesses. Your e-commerce business handles sensitive customer information; thus, keeping your network secure is vital. Additionally, your business may also handle customer data from different economic zones. That is why it is essential to be updated on the privacy regulations of these areas for you to implement the required security protocols.
For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guides the customer data you can collect and what you need to do to protect the data. The various economic zones have different rules. Thus, you may need to find a site that contains a full post on consumer data protection as per your customers’ zones.
However, the overall target of all the regulations is to ensure the customer data going through your system is safe and secure. The tips enumerated below help you achieve this.
1. Implement Strict Access Levels
Sometimes, your team members may facilitate the loss of customer data knowingly or unknowingly. Tracing such a loss can be difficult, especially if your system does not have authority levels. On the other hand, not everyone in your organization needs to access all data in the system.
Therefore, it is vital to define and implement access levels accordingly to roles. These access levels allow one to see information only crucial to performing their duties. If there is a need for more data, one can seek authority from the subsequent senior access level. Therefore, you control who gets access to what data, depending on data sensitivity and authority levels.
In your e-commerce business operations, also set access controls for your business suppliers and customers. Furthermore, having a system admin to monitor account activity helps control and detect any malicious activity by users. Overall, having sensitive customer data restricted to few accesses helps improve its safety and security.
2. Ensure You Are Compliant with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)
As your e-commerce business does not have physical contact with the customers, most payments you receive are via credit or debit cards. This, therefore, means that you need to look at the requirements provided under payment card industry data security standards (PCI DSS). The PCI DSS requires you to implement safety protocols outlined by the PCI security standards council (PCI SSC) to protect cardholders from data misuse and theft.
Some of the protocols include:
- Encrypting cardholder data transmission;
- Installing, maintaining, and updating a firewall configuration and anti-virus software;
- Restricting and protecting access to cardholder information;
- Developing, testing, and monitoring your security system process regularly; and
- Tracking and monitoring access to cardholder information.
When you practice these protocols, it ensures the security of cardholders’ data in your system.
3. Always Keep Your Security Patches Updated
One of the most critical steps in your security measures is to ensure all software in your network is up to date. Software providers constantly update their products to counter new cyberthreats as protection processes. Thus, older versions may be more vulnerable to attacks. Therefore, it is essential to ensure your system keeps up by running these updates whenever they are available.
Furthermore, cybercriminals can have malicious software that crawl websites and detect systems that are not secure. Updating your security patches improves your network’s security, protects your business’s data, and protects your customers’ information.
4. Collect Necessary Data and Don’t Store Credit Card Information
Even though the e-commerce business allows you to access customer data, you must only collect what you require. The less sensitive data you have, the less liability for loss on your end. Additionally, if you do not have any sensitive data in your network, cybercriminals will not have anything to steal.
Customers provide their credit card information to complete their transactions during checkout. However, do not store this information in your network. It increases your liability risk. Furthermore, it’s part of the PCI DSS requirements. Also, utilize third-party payment facilities available for you. Using third-party facilities ensures that less credit cardholder information is input into your system during transactions.
5. Make Use of Security Sockets Layer (SSL)
A security sockets layer (SSL) provides a platform that allows encrypted data exchange between a web browser and your server. This data encryption provides an extra layer of security, thus, preventing cybercriminals from intercepting the communication and stealing the data. This security offers a sense of trustworthiness to your e-commerce customers.
Customers visiting your website will recognize the security feature when your website displays HTTPS instead of HTTP in the uniform resource locator (URL). At a glance, a secure URL will have a green padlock on the address bar of a web browser.
As an e-commerce business, this security feature reassures your customers that their data are secure. Ensure your security certificate is always up to date. If you are not sure, use an SSL certificate monitoring service to check its validity.
Conclusion
As an e-commerce business owner, the safety of your customers’ data makes up part of your crucial data security priorities. Apart from compliance with PCI DSS protocols, restricting access, keeping your security software updated, and using SSL all help protect these data. Additionally, only collect necessary information without storing sensitive ones in your network.
