Several brands use Magento to develop and run their e-Commerce stores, making it the second most used e-commerce platform in the world. Though it has a fair share of advantages, a few vulnerabilities exist in terms of security.
A report made by TechRadar states that around 87% of online stores created through Magento have greater exposure to cyberattacks. These attacks can make a website unresponsive and cause a company to lose essential customer details to hackers. As a result, that company’s image may tarnish rapidly and can lose potential clients.
If you operate an online store through Magento and are worried about your website’s security, then follow the steps mentioned below.
Steps to Take to Heighten the Security of Your E-commerce Store
1. Attain an SSL Certificate for Your Online Store
An SSL certificate is a must-have for any website available on the internet. It’s what differentiates between websites that are authentic and secure from those which are insecure. There are several advantages of installing this certificate.
It can improve your website’s SEO rankings, which is an essential role of digital marketing services. Another advantage is that it can boost the confidence of online shoppers to purchase products from your brand.
A Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate works to encrypt data traffic that flows in and out of a website. When applied to your e-Commerce website, it can encrypt personal information such as PINs of credit cards, login credentials, etc. This helps in preventing hackers to steal confidential data which can lead to unauthorized transactions or identity frauds.
2. Keep Magento’s version Up-to-Date
Magento is an open-source application, meaning that it regularly receives updates to enhance its functionality. This includes fixing bugs, and renewal of security patches. Regular updates may seem irritating, but they’re important for keeping your online store safe.
Moreover, Magento provides its users with patch notes for every new software version released. These patch notes provide detailed information related to the modifications in the original software, and also inform what weak areas had the developers fixed.
It shows the areas that hackers can take advantage of from those e-Commerce stores using outdated software. So, keeping the e-Commerce platform up to date is a must.
3. Keep a Strong Password for Your Magento Account
Your Magento account’s password is the key to controlling your E-commerce store. If it can be guessed easily, you’ve provided an invitation to online attackers. So, not only your account can be overridden but also one can gain access to all confidential details related to your customers and company data.
To prevent such a situation, it requires making a strong password. Below are a few guidelines for making a strong password.
- Use a mixture of characters include upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters.
- Don’t use the same password for different login portals. If you use the same password for various accounts, higher are the risks of getting your account hacked.
- Change passwords of several accounts regularly.
- Store your passwords on the free password manager applications, not on your computer.
4. Scan Your E-Commerce Store through Magento’s scanner
It’s difficult to identify any weaknesses in your online store through mere observation. You require to use the right software that can detect any security vulnerabilities in your website. Luckily, Magento’s creators have introduced free scanning software.
Its features include analyzing whether your website meets the security standards and identifying malicious activity, thus alerting the E-commerce store owner. The security scans can be set on a suitable schedule, and the application allows storing of previous scan reports conducted through Magento. The security scanner also gives free consultation on the correct ways to resolve security issues.
5. Prevent MySQL Injection by Installing a Firewall
SQL injections are a common technique that hackers use to retrieve sensitive information from online websites that take in user credentials. If the attempt becomes successful, attackers can easily gain control over your E-commerce website and steal confidential data ranging from location to credit card numbers and more. Hackers then can easily publicize such information or can conduct unofficial transactions.
Magento has taken precautionary measures to prevent such situations, but it’s recommended to use a firewall application as it can control who can access your website or not. So, it adds a new level of defense to your eCommerce store.
6. Make a Distinct URL path for Your Admin Portal
Your admin portal can be called the control panel of your Magento eCommerce store. Making a strong password is necessary, but it’s even better to enhance the difficulty of your admin page URL.
The basic URL structure of Magento’s admin portal is websitename.com/admin. This can be easily spotted by hackers so they can enter the login site of your Magento account.
Such a risky situation can be avoided by editing the URL path of your website which leads to the admin site. Replace it with such a name that can be only guessed by you. Here is Magento’s guide on enhancing the security of your admin portal for reference.
7. Regularly Backup Your Ecommerce Site
There’s no such thing as a perfect defense system, even though all precautionary measures have been taken. That’s why all E-commerce store owners must regularly take backups of their site. Chances are that your website’s defenses can be compromised, causing you to lose control.
Through backups, you can store the previous versions of your website when it was fully functional. In case your online store becomes unresponsive due to security or compatibility issues, you can restore your website to its previous state. In this way, you and your customers can continue to access your website. You can back up your website on both cloud storage as well as solid-state drives.
Conclusion
Magento’s developers constantly update the e-commerce platform to enhance its functionality and security. However, online businesses need to take every possible measure to ensure the safety of their prospects and their e-commerce stores. Install an SSL certificate that enables the encryption of data traffic to a website.
Make sure that you’ve installed the latest version of Magento’s software and run scans through Magento’s scanning app for finding security issues. By following the above-mentioned tips, you can strengthen the defenses of your e-commerce store.
Author Bio :-
Shaheryar provides ghostwriting and copywriting services. His educational background in the technical field and business studies helps him in tackling topics ranging from career and business productivity to web development and digital marketing. He occasionally writes articles for Dynamologic Solutions.
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