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What Do I Need to Know About Cyber Security for My eCommerce Business?

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eCommerce sites like your business website can be tempting targets for hackers. Your eCommerce platform processes online transactions and stores personal and sensitive information online. For example, your eCommerce store is an ideal target for customer data such as credit card information. Therefore, a key priority for your eCommerce brand is your eCommerce security. eCommerce security helps keep your online store safe, prevents cyber threats such as malicious software, and helps comply with specific laws. This article will, therefore, explain what your eCommerce website needs to know about cyber security for your eCommerce business.

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What is Cyber Security? 

Cyber security is for your brand and is how your business tries to prevent a cyber attack, such as infiltrating networks, technologies or systems without your authorisation. 

Cyber security helps to protect your devices as well as your eCommerce site. It can do this through the application of, for example:

  • technology;
  • processes; and
  • controls.

Your eCommerce business needs to understand many critical points about cyber security. Below, we go through some of these for your internet brand.

How Can Cyber Security Help My eCommerce Business?

Cyber security can help your eCommerce business in many ways. For example, it can help protect you from common online security threats to Commerce business, such as:

  • phishing attacks, which are where a bad actor can trick a person into giving information that is important and personal, such as bank account information;
  • malware and ransomware attacks, which are where your systems can experience damage and after being locked out, you may have to pay a ransom to reaccess them; 
  • SQL injection, which is where an attacker can view and possibly edit your database by injecting a malicious query;
  • bots, which simulate human behaviour, allowing cybercriminals to infiltrate your computers and servers; and 
  • financial fraud, such as clean fraud, is when fraudsters can intercept messages between you and your customers, allowing them to gain a copy of their data. 
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Cyber security is essential to help your eCommerce business ensure it complies with the laws that affect eCommerce businesses.

Cyber security helps protect your internet brand from hackers, allowing it to avoid issues such as personal data breaches. For example, a failure to utilise SQL injection can expose your users’ personal data. As an eCommerce business, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires you to protect your customer’s data. Good cyber security can do this.

Another example of how cyber security can help keep your business legally compliant is where cyber security is part of your legal obligations as an internet business. For instance, you should meet the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) when accepting credit and debit card payments from online customers. You must meet these security standards when storing, processing, or transferring your customers’ cardholder data. However, as this law affects your eCommerce business cyber security, it helps protect you online.

Also, good cyber security can help you comply with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a set of safety standards for the safety and quality of products or services. For example, good cyber security can help ensure you comply with the standards regarding information security management systems.

Key Takeaways

Cybersecurity is essential when you run an eCommerce brand. It is about keeping your internet business secure and safe, such as from a cyberattack. 

You should know many things about cyber security for your internet business. For example, understanding the common online security threats to online companies like yours, which cyber security can help reduce the chance of occurring. This includes threats such as bots impersonating human behaviour and phishing attacks tricking people into giving out private information. 

A main point to know about cyber security for your brand is how it helps ensure you comply with legal obligations. For example, good cyber security can help ensure you do not have a data breach, which is a breach of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). It can also help ensure compliance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). 

If you need help understanding cyber security for your eCommerce business in the UK, LegalVision’s experienced eCommerce lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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Clare Farmer

Clare Farmer

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