Thursday, August 20, 2009

Website Security - Be Hacker Proof!

At first glance, online shopping seems easy as 123 because of how easy it is to choose, compare and purchase different products with the help of search engines. According to a survey of American online shoppers, 41% abandon their carts once they face difficulty in the transaction process. This only indicates that the story doesn't always have a happy ending. Some online shoppers do encounter difficulties, confusion and misleading tactics that make them discontinue the shopping or subscription process. Can all this be blamed to a weak website security?

If you are online merchant, you want to avoid your potential sale from turning into thin air. Surprisingly, it is not other e-commerce businesses that you should feel threatened about- even more if you know for yourself that you sell top notch products or services. It is those attackers trying to find a vulnerable spot in your website security that you should be careful of. 95% of cyber attacks are targeted to banks and businesses processing credit cards. And if you have no protection, then you have higher chances of being hacked.

Cyber crime is rising rapidly and it has become a weapon of destruction because in the year 2008 alone, the loss due to cyber crimes has reached $1 trillion. What's even more alarming is the fact that tracing these cyber criminals is almost close to impossible. Even government institutions have fallen prey to hackers, and sad to say, due lack of evidence and difficulty in tracing, they haven't had prosecuted almost any of the guilty party.

Computers were invented out of necessity and we store everything in it! This is followed by the creation of internet -a real world where we buy, sell, exchange goods and services. Are you a 100% sure that information is securely saved on your computer network and website?

Take note that hackers are privacy invaders and will try incessantly to steal your that identity and hard earned income. Cyber attackers are masters when it comes to sophisticated technology. They can insert viruses and malicious files into your system without you even knowing it. The truth is having only anti- virus software can be a false sense of security. If you really want to prevent your business from becoming a statistic in cyber crime damages, then be educated about website security. You'll have higher chances of beating the bad guys if you are aware of how they play the game of fraud.

You can only be prepared if you know what you are dealing with. Here are some cyber attacks you may not have heard of:

1. Phishing- method to steal credit card information, passwords and other important information in forms of suspicious links, and emails of spoofed websites.

2. Clickjacking - this is one of the new and most dangerous threats because there isn't any effective solution for this problem yet. So what hackers and spammers do is that they hide a malicious content under the cover of legitimate buttons or clickable items in the website. For example, you clicked 'enter' into a website but instead the hacker directed the click you made into downloading viruses. They can also create spoofs of legitimate websites, where they steal credit card information entered by shoppers.

Online shoppers face more risk of fraud than those who do physical shopping. They might thought that they have purchased real goods from a legitimate merchant, but it can be possible they were actually misled. Online merchants also face the possibility of being hacked of names, addresses and credit card information. It is no surprise that for this reason, e-commerce businesses come and go. Having no website security is like having no burglar alarm on your property. You may wake up one day and everything has been taken away.

Hackers don't only target only large businesses. In fact, they easily find unprotected systems which are mostly small to medium businesses. According to hacker safe, 75% of e-commerce is not secure. Isn't it a disgrace to be a part of that statistic? There are many ways to get started with website security. So go ahead and get started.

1. Get covered with the basics. So install at the same time: a firewall system, anti-virus program and anti spy-ware program.

2. Get trust seals. This works both ways- it increases consumer confidence thus increasing sales and secures your website from vulnerabilities that hackers can take advantage of.

3. Get a consultant. If you have a budget and you can't handle it on your own, get a consultant to take care of your system and network. They too can make professional recommendations on ways how to secure your network.

Katrina loves to write and is dedicated to doing her best in all that she does.

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