Types of Security Threats to an E-commerce Company

E-commerce security risks can be caused accidentally, intentionally or can be caused by a human error. The most predominant cybersecurity threats include phishing attacks, credit card fraud, DDoS Attacks, unprotected online services, etc. The user data such as login credentials, credit card numbers, etc. are some sensitive information that is protected by a customer. However, when it comes to e-commerce websites, we do not think and put our card number, CVV, and other information demanded by the e-commerce testing companies to make our transaction successful without being aware of its security.

Here are the main types of security threats to an e-commerce company.

1. Phishing attacks

Phishing attacks target user data like login credentials and credit card numbers. These attacks use social engineering methods where an attacker poses as a trusted entity and deceives a victim into opening an email or a text message.

2. Credit card fraud

There are several areas within an e-commerce website that aids as a point of interruption for a hacker to take payment and user information. An attacker by using malware extracts credit card information and sells the data. After which, the fraud is committed to mining the highest value possible through ATM withdrawals, e-commerce transactions, etc.

3. Cross Site Scripting

This form of attack gives attackers the access to the user’s information that is stored in the user’s computer. In this attack, the attacker inserts a JavaScript snippet on a vulnerable web page, and to a browser, it looks like a normal script and is executed in a normal manner. These attacks leave the website vulnerable to phishing attempts or malware installation.

4. SQL Injection

Website security SQL injection can shake any website using an SQL database, which includes various well-known e-commerce platforms like Magento. In this type of attack, a hacker inserts malicious SQL statements in a payload which looks like an authentic SQL inquiry. The attacker creates an administrative account for himself, erase database entries, or view private information if they manage to access the database.

5. Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS Attacks

High-profile e-commerce sites are susceptible to the DDoS attacks, and smaller e-commerce sites may also be vulnerable if their DNS provider is targeted. This attack aims to take down the site by disturbing servers with requests. This attack overloads the servers, slowing them down considerably and taking the site temporarily offline, averting legitimate users from accessing the site or completing orders.

6. Bad Bots Aiming at E-commerce Industry

Bots are prevailing all over the Internet, and they can be both good and bad. Good bots are generally used by search engines to index and crawl the websites for search results. Whereas, bad bots gather information from websites such as card details, login details, etc. or take over real accounts by guesstimating the passwords.

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According to a recent industry report, 97% of sites are hit with some sort of bad bots. For e-commerce sites, bad bots account for an average of 15.6% of a website’s traffic, with good bots accounting for 9.3% of traffic.

It’s a huge risk to the e-commerce websites and applications.

Courtesy by: 
TestingXperts