It seems security breaches have not just become common, but prevalent throughout society. Between allegations of hacking into voting systems, and then into the most influential social media platforms, digital security has never been more critical. Users and businesses alike must do all they can to protect their data.
Top Security Breaches in 2018
There have been a few high profile security breaches last year. Unlike before, however, the intent of these hacks was not to steal personal data, but for more nefarious purposes. The Russian Grid Hacking, for example, possibly gave hackers access to America’s utility control systems. Between that and personal information being stolen on several high profile companies, including Facebook, it seems that security is only going to be increasingly important to consumers in the future.
The Rising Importance of Data Security
To counter the threat of a user’s data, the EU recently released the General Data Protection Regulation. It was implemented on May 25, 2018, and has enforced strict regulation on how companies can handle personal information. EU residents also have the right to request their data back, and to even have it deleted. EU based businesses, and as a consequence, all global companies being accessed in the EU must adhere to these new rules.
How to Improve Your Site Security and User Friendliness
Use a Trusted E-commerce Platform
The first step for many online stores is to choose an e-commerce platform. You want one that is both easy to use and customize, and also has a strong security team on hand to keep your data and your customers’ data safe. The larger your company, the more you need to stress the security component when it comes to choosing Enterprise ecommerce platforms.
Once chosen, you will want to follow the steps in this video from Current News to create a successful strategy to get users to your site.
Ensure Your Site Has Several Layers of Security
There are many levels of security you can implement on your site. A secure e-commerce provider is one of them, but other options include payment protection, HTTPS protocols, and more. Advertise these measures so that users can rest assured you are doing everything you can to protect their data.
Audit Regularly and Update Often
Old pages, logins, and software are back-doors for hackers to get into your site. Take the recent Facebook hack, for example. They used old access tokens to break into users’ accounts. Even though they reportedly only had access to basic information like email and phone number (needed for the two-factor authentication) this information is valuable.
Site security and how you process user’s data is only going to become more critical to the consumer as these hacks become more pervasive. If you do not have the funds or means to implement your own measures, then rely on trusted companies who have the resources to maintain heavy security for you, and train both employees and users on how to manage their online safety better in the future.
