Post by Carla Martin
The inevitable integration of e-commerce with social media has given businesses an easier way to reach their targeted audience. A 2013 study by Mobstac–compiled into this infographic – found that 75 percent of e-commerce sales came from Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest alone. With millions of consumers relying on social media to guide their purchases, it’s more important than ever to be aware of social commerce security threats. Fortunately, there are ways to protect your company from online criminals with the following proactive solutions.
Decrease the Risk of Internal Security Breaches
Although it’s easier to believe that security breaches occur at the hands of external hackers, oftentimes the company’s employees are actually to blame. Internet Retailer says larger companies are particularly prone to internal risk because they have a larger staff. Sometimes these internal attacks can be unintentional, like an employee who downloads an application that contains harmful code.
To protect yourself and your shoppers from internal attacks,
Tech Republic suggests three things:
- Disabling installation of unauthorized software
- Locking down firewall ports to prevent the use of file sharing applications
- Setting up a corporate firewall that can only be bypassed by removing internal modems
However don’t forget that taking preventative actions is also necessary. For example, you should always keep close track of who has access to what and disable accounts when an employee leaves the company. Also, establish strict corporate policies against theft and make sure your employees know that any suspicious behavior or activity will result in termination and/or legal action.
Consider Identity Theft Protection
A 2011 Digitas study found that more than 55 percent of social media users in the U.S. are wary about submitting credit card information online, but there are ways to intercept security threats through data monitoring, bank account alerts and monthly credit score tracking for your online properties; by monitoring these areas, the risk of infiltration and hacking is reduced, which includes the company’s data and consumers’ personal and financial information. A traditional security monitoring approach is no longer enough, says Wired. Instead, integrated, all-encompassing solutions that protect you from all potential vulnerabilities saves your company’s reputation in the event that threats creep in. Social e-commerce breaches can easily and quickly dissolve the stable relationship you have with your customers, not to mention severely tarnishes your brand. Avoid this by knowing exactly how your company’s sensitive information is being used and by whom.
Establish a Secure Transaction Process
A protected online checkout system can keep hackers from stealing sensitive information. Rick Andrews, Technical Director at Trust Services, advises using a strong Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) authentication for Web and data protection. Encrypting data during a transaction can protect both your company and your customers from getting their financial and personal information stolen by cyber-criminals. Furthermore, having an SSL certificate lets your visitors know their data is safe and deters potential hackers from attempting a security attack on your social commerce properties. An SSL certificate secures connections through HTTPS protocol and is typically a yearly subscription that varies depending on how many websites you need to cover.
Protect All Your Platforms
When protecting your company from social media commerce security threats, take into account the many ways people shop online. Shoppers who use mobile phones for transactions are at greater risk of fraud and hacking, mentions IT Pro Portal. Unfortunately, typical data protection works well with contained databases but not with data that is sent from one point to another. You can avoid this security threat by maintaining full visibility of the checkout process, using a data-centric security solution and stateless tokenization.
The Social Robot Admin
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