Developing An Ecommerce Security Plan

The rise of e-commerce

The rise of online shopping in 2020 highlighted the need for a robust Ecommerce Security Plan. Protect your customers and adapt to changing shopping habits with a secure plan.

Although many companies have been incorporating e-commerce into their operations in recent years, the concept of shopping online skyrocketed in 2020. This was as the global conditions forced people to turn to their smart devices to shop for groceries, clothing, and just about everything else that they needed while being confined to their houses. Therefore, the convenience that comes with e-commerce can no longer be denied, and it has led to a change in customer behaviour and shopping habits post-2020.

The same can be said for other sectors too, such as finance, which has been accelerating its efforts to incorporate fintech into daily operations because of the convenience that it offers customers. Similarly, trading currencies has also been made that much easier through the introduction of online forex brokers in the USA, which are often preferred by the masses over other potentially unregulated ones.

It is therefore evident that online operations have become a key part of our lives, now more than ever, which means that there is also the need for people to protect themselves against unscrupulous characters on the internet that may be looking to take advantage of consumers.

Importance of cybersecurity

Scammers and fraudsters exist online as much as they do in real life, therefore, in order to put customers at ease, it is vital to have an ecommerce security plan in place. Just as one would need to have security for a physical store, the same applies to ecommerce. Below is an outline of how to go about developing an ecommerce security plan.

1. Perform a risk assessment

As a starting point, you should assess risks and points of vulnerability. This will help you get an idea of areas of improvement and will allow you to critically determine how scammers could potentially hack or commit fraud on your electronic commerce site.

2. Develop a security policy

This is a set of statements and noted to highlight and prioritise information risks, identify risk targets, as well as identify mechanisms and ways of achieving and addressing those targets.

3. Develop an implementation plan

This entails clearly stipulating the action steps that need to be taken to achieve the security goals. This can also be used to delegate and assign tasks, as well as create a timeline for when and how each step needs to be implemented for maximum results and to meet targets.

4. Create a security organization

This stage is done to provide a holistic view of where things stand. This is done to clarify who is in charge of security and the various tasks to be completed, whilst also educating and training users. Additionally, it is an effective way of keeping management aware of any security issues and concerns that have been identified which are to be addressed, whilst also administering access controls.

5. Perform a security audit

A security audit is a way to review the existing security practices and procedures. Here, you can identify areas of improvement and determine whether or not the current systems are proving to be effective. This stage requires a level of honesty, criticism and thorough review of how things are currently being conducted.

FAQs for Developing an Ecommerce Security Plan