Cyber threats continue to escalate as technology advances, and security on your eCommerce site has never been more crucial to your business success. As an online retailer, you have a responsibility to your customers to keep their sensitive information safe and secure. Data breaches in the U.S. have resulted in an average loss of $10.2 million in 2025, and losses related to cybercrime are increasing significantly year over year.
Here are some ways retailers can make sure their data and their customers’ data, is secured so you can focus on increasing conversions and online revenue.
Multi-factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication has become standard practice for organizations to verify that the user attempting to access sensitive information is who they say they are. Beyond using strong passwords, multi-factor authentication takes it a step further to make sure anyone trying to gain access is allowed to do so, preventing attackers from taking advantage of you or your customers.
The best way to implement MFA across all systems is to use an authenticator app, as they can be even more secure than a code sent to a user’s phone through SMS. This can help you create a strong barrier between you and online fraudulent activity.
Back Up Data
It’s important to make sure that if data is lost it can be recovered easily. The 3-2-1 rule ensures that you have three copies of your data stored on two local devices, and one stored in an offsite location. This method helps you manage data so that even in the event or a major breach you can always recover lost data.
For extra security, you should regular test backups to ensure that data can be recovered successfully. You can even implement a system for managing the lifecycle of your data, to maintain that unnecessary or old data is removed within a specified timeframe and not sitting around in your servers waiting to be exploited.
Update Software Regularly
It’s critical to always install software updates as soon as they’re released as not doing so can leave you vulnerable to known weaknesses in the system.
You can use a centralized patch management system to automate the release and installation of new updates, but often automatic updates are available, so you can just set it and forget it. Don’t forget to update security systems as well to ensure firewalls and detection systems are up to date with the latest rules and signatures.
Assess Vulnerabilities
This rise of headless or composable commerce has led many eCommerce retailers to manage a variety of third-party vendors and APIs, creating opportunities for malicious actors to step in. External integrations can leave you exposed, and because these connections often lead straight to your customers and their payment information, this can result in an increased risk for cybercrime.
You can run assessments on your potential new vendors before onboarding to ensure proper security measures are in place. You should also regularly run vulnerability assessments on your own systems so any weaknesses can be managed before it’s too late. Virid’s site assessment tool can check your site for any vulnerabilities and provide deep insights into your site’s performance as well.
Educate Staff
Some of the most common attacks aren’t executed by discovering vulnerabilities in your tech stack, but rather by taking advantage of human behavior. Phishing is one of the most common cybersecurity threats because staff aren’t always trained to recognize these attacks as they become more sophisticated and harder to catch.
The best way to prevent phishing attacks is to educate your staff regularly, with quarterly training, not just during onboarding. You can even send out phishing simulations to ensure your employees are ready for when a real attack occurs.
Ensure PCI-DSS Compliance
PCI-DSS or payment card industry data security standards are mandatory guidelines for any entity that handles credit card information. It aims to help organizations create a secure environment so that cardholder data isn’t mishandled.
The fundamentals of PCI-DSS involve encrypting credit card numbers with tokens that have no real value if stolen, never storing cardholder data on local servers if possible, managing vulnerabilities and continuously monitoring systems to ensure compliance. It’s also advisable to only work with payment processors who are PCI-DSS compliant to ensure every part of your organization meets these standards.
As scams become harder to detect and cyber threats become more advanced, retailers have a responsibility to keep up with the changes to maintain a secure environment for their data and their customers’ data. Not only can this help you prevent fraudulent activity from taking place but it also gives your customers more confidence when choosing to make a purchase knowing that all of the information they give you is handled with care, thus increasing conversions and revenue on your site.
If you’re looking for help making sure your site is secure, reach out to the experts at Virid. Our eCommerce platform, marketAgility is a cloud-based platform that offers secure and reliable PCI Level 1 compliant site hosting via Microsoft Azure with 24/7 monitoring and 99.99% uptime. Set up a consultation today to learn more.
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