How Can Start-ups Improve Their Online Security To Protect Their E-Commerce Sites?

Start-up business owners have many hurdles and potential roadblocks from the outset. The first few years of operating are vital to a business’s success, and research found that of the majority of start-up businesses, around 45 percent fail in their first five years.

The success of your business should, for the most part, be in your control. However, there are certain external elements that you need to carefully consider. As recently reported here on Youth Incorporated, malware is one of the greatest threats in the online world, with viruses like Agent Smith infecting millions of smartphones worldwide.

If you put measures in place, your start-up should be safe from malicious attacks. It’s all about building the best protocols from the get-go so that you can proactively prevent issues from occurring and also be generally more equipped to confront issues, should they arise. The sad reality is that, if you take these security steps further down the line when an attack has already happened, it may already be too late to repair the damage.

Email Verification Software

There are around 3.4 billion phishing emails sent out around the world every day, making this one of the most common methods that cybercriminals use against unsuspecting internet users. Phishing emails are sometimes sent from hacked emails, but fake email accounts are a pertinent problem as well.

Luckily, there are numerous email verification software programs and tools that you can choose from in 2022. These can tell you if an email address is valid or not, but they also have a vast number of other applications. Indeed, they can be used in different departments, such as marketing, operations, and risk management.

One of the top-rated options is SEON’s software, which is considered the best for digital profiling. It’s a fraud detection company that can get tons of information from a single email address. It can verify if an email address is actively in use, and even pinpoint when it was first created. It can also check if it is linked to social media registrations. If it is, the person using it is much more likely to be real.  

Email verification software can also help ensure that emails aren’t being bounced back so that you know they are being received by the intended customer or client. Applications span beyond this as well, and you will find that beyond security, it can help convert more users down the know-your-customer funnel.

Be Aware of Malvertising

If you want to attract as many customers as possible, you’ll need to use a digital marketing strategy. Smart Insights found that 34 percent of businesses have an integrated marketing strategy, while a vast portion of other companies are doing some form of advertising online as well. This is the best way to connect with customers in the modern age and, if done correctly, can be good value for the investment required.When you start digital marketing, you will need to be aware of a pervasive issue in the industry that could potentially be a threat to security in your business. There has recently been a rise in malicious advertising, otherwise known as malvertising. This is when cybercriminals inject harmful code into seemingly innocuous adverts. When users click on the ads, they inadvertently start downloading the malware onto their devices.

If you include adverts on your site’s pages from third parties, you need to be careful about this. Likewise, if you employ a company to run your digital marketing campaign, you’ll need to check their credentials and make sure they are legitimate. There are other measures that you can take as well, though. For example, there is software that you can use to combat malvertising and identify it before it has caused any damage.

Keep Software Up to Date

If you don’t keep all your software up to date, you run the risk of cybercriminals exploiting vulnerabilities on your pages. Hackers are always lurking, ready to pounce on potential breaches in security protocols. If any of the components of your online security are weak, this could offer cybercriminals the opportunity they need to get in.

The best way to ensure that this doesn’t happen is to check that your software, SaaS, and plugins are all in their latest form. If an update becomes available, get it installed as soon as possible. If anything is incompatible, you should remove it and uninstall it immediately.

To avoid encountering incompatible plugins, it’s wise to use software from well-known companies. Don’t forget to conduct a thorough investigation of the product you plan to use. In addition, it’s wise to keep researching every so often to see if a better option has come along.

Choose a Platform with High Up Time

When you start a new eCommerce site, you’ll most likely use a premade platform like Shopify. This is a prudent security move, as these well-known names have already spent a vast amount of time and resources developing their protocols.

These platforms conduct regular maintenance to improve their security and update code. To do so, they must enter downtime, which can temporarily put them at risk. If this happens too often, it could have a negative impact on your business’s reputation. Therefore, this is another area that requires a lot of research and due diligence before you set up your website. Read through customer reviews about the various platforms, and check comparison sites as well. There’s no point in hoping that you’ll be lucky when it comes to avoiding cyberattacks. The best thing you can do is make the necessary preparations in advance. By following these simple steps and preparing everything carefully, you should be able to make your eCommerce site as safe as possible.