October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. So, as your business gears up for the holidays, don’t forget to take stock of your cybersecurity resilience. Ecommerce security is always crucial, but the industry is particularly vulnerable to bad actors during the busy season.
It’s a crucial time of the year for meeting sales goals, so it’s natural for businesses to prioritize marketing efforts during this time. Unfortunately, hackers also see increased holiday shopping traffic as a prime opportunity to target your customers’ personal and financial data.
According to a recent article from Harvard Business Review, “Just last year, attacks increased by more than 200%. In many of these cases, security vulnerabilities in the supply chain were exposed by third-party operators, such as vendors and contractors.”
Regulatory bodies around the world are responding to these threats by placing more responsibility on vendors like you. To avoid costly fines and lawsuits, it’s more important than ever to make data security a top priority.
You can’t prepare for every potential threat, but there are practical steps you can take to safeguard your business and customer data. Regardless of the size of your organization, making proactive cybersecurity measures part of your company culture pays off.
According to World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Security Outlook Report, “Increased employee awareness about cyberattacks was cited by cyber leaders who took part in the survey as the most positive influence on an organization’s cyber-resilience approach in the next 12 months. An organization’s cyber capabilities grow with its employees’ understanding of cyber risks and their personal role and responsibility in helping to manage them.”
You may not have time for a complete cybersecurity overhaul before the holiday rush, but you can give security a boost with these simple steps:
Refresh your staff’s knowledge about cybersecurity best practices with a cybersecurity awareness training.
Make multifactor authentication (MFA) the default for your team.
Require regular password updates and complex passwords that include numbers and special characters.
Only store necessary consumer data, and review your data retention policy.
Consider load testing to make sure your servers, API, and applications can handle increased traffic. This helps you identify bottlenecks and minimize downtime ahead of the busy season.
Review your software systems, firewall, and website for updates (along with any plug-ins and extensions). Vulnerabilities from aging and outdated systems are a common culprit for data loss. Look for and remove any integrations or plugins that are no longer relevant. This will help reduce the number of parties that have access to your data.
One of the best things you can do to protect your business is to have a comprehensive cybersecurity plan in place. This gives your team a valuable framework to revisit as you adapt to the threats that come along with our evolving digital landscape.
It’s also important to be picky about who you partner with for software solutions and essential functions like data analysis and merchant services. Comparing prices and reviews is only the first step. Make sure the services you entrust with sensitive data are transparent about their practices. It’s also critical that they are compliant with local and international privacy regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Even the best customized solutions can develop vulnerabilities over time. Make sure your ecommerce systems are secure and up-to-date.