Phishing attacks in ecommerce target both business owners and customers with sneaky messages designed to steal sensitive data like login credentials or payment information.

Phishing attacks against ecommerce shake out in a few different ways:

Customer-targeted phishing uses fake emails from a business that seems legitimate, asking customers to "verify" their account details or payment information.

Business-targeted phishing targets employees with emails that look real but contain malicious links or attachments. One innocent click from a team member could potentially give hackers access to your entire system.

The impact of phishing on ecommerce businesses is serious. Successful phishing attacks can lead to unauthorized transactions, compromised customer accounts, and major reputational damage.

How to protect an ecommerce business from phishing attacks:

• Set up email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
• Keep employee identities and email secure with enterprise-grade Managed Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
• Go with PCI-compliant secure payment gateways to better protect customer information
• Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) as much as possible
• Share tips and tricks with customers on secure online shopping habits

SQL injection attacks exploit vulnerabilities in ecommerce web applications to inject malicious SQL code into the backend databases. Think of your ecommerce database as a secure filing cabinet, and SQL injection is a lock-picking tool for cybercriminals.

Here’s how SQL injection works: Instead of adding usernames and passwords to the application input fields like a customer, hackers add malicious SQL code to search bars, login forms, or checkout pages. If the application doesn’t correctly sanitize and validate this input, the malicious SQL code is executed by the database, giving attackers access to manipulate the database, bypass security measures, and have unauthorized access to sensitive information like customer information, payment data, inventory records, and administrative credentials.

Successful SQL injection attacks are a major risk for ecommerce businesses. In addition to giving attackers unauthorized access, they can cause legal and financial problems with customers and regulatory bodies.

SQL injection takes advantage of vulnerabilities sprinkled across the platform, from custom-coded features to third-party plugins and extensions, giving hackers plenty of targeting opportunities.

Here’s how you can stay safe from SQL injection attacks:

• Make sure all user inputs are correctly sanitized and validated
• Avoid detailed error handling to users so hackers don’t get clues about vulnerabilities you don’t want them to have
• Prioritize regular application security penetration testing and code reviews

XSS attacks happen when hackers inject malicious client-side scripts, like JavaScript, into trusted ecommerce websites. Hackers look for vulnerable input fields, like product reviews, comment sections, or user profiles, which don’t sanitize user-supplied data. Instead of writing a glowing product review, for example, they add a nasty script that forces the site to steal session cookies, redirect customers to fraudulent sites, or capture customer keystrokes.

XSS compromises customer data and the integrity of the ecommerce platform. These attacks are tough to spot because cybercriminals use the real website as the attack vector.

Here are steps to prevent XXS attacks:

• Focus on strong web server application security configurations
• Set up a web application firewall
• Run penetration tests on applications to uncover and fix unknown vulnerabilities

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks overwhelm ecommerce websites with more traffic requests than they can handle, shutting them down to legitimate customers. Imagine trying to enter a store while thousands of people block every entrance. That's essentially what happens to online retailers during a DDoS attack.

While DDoS attacks against ecommerce platforms started as simple website crashes, they’ve escalated to botnets, networks of compromised computers that generate seemingly genuine traffic. This makes it harder to suss out real customers from malicious requests.

Cybercriminals are clever and time their attacks during these high-traffic shopping periods, like Black Friday or other holiday seasons, to maximize disruption. Even short website disruptions during peak times like this are a nosedive for sales and revenue.

DDoS attacks are trouble for ecommerce businesses and their customers. They cause website outages, damage reputations and trust, and missed sales. Plus, it’s not cheap for ecommerce businesses to recover damaged systems and build a stronger security stack against this threat.

How you can prevent DDoS attacks:

• Put money into DDoS protection services from the hosting provider
• Distribute traffic loads with content delivery networks (CDNs)
• Watch traffic patterns to spot unusual spikes at the beginning of a potential attack
• Invest in and kick the tires on an incident response plan that includes DDoS attacks

Data breaches happen when hackers get unauthorized access to sensitive customer information and then expose or sell it. These types of customer details from ecommerce businesses are money makers for hackers:

• Customer names, addresses, and phone numbers
• Credit card and payment information
• Login credentials and passwords
• Purchase history and browsing behavior

And the initial data theft is just the start. After the breach, there are a boatload of problems to deal with: regulatory fines, legal costs, overwhelmed customer service teams, increased insurance premiums, lost customer trust, bruised reputation, and more. And now customers’ sensitive data is for sale on dark web marketplaces, so the theft and compromise cycle continues for them long after the data breach.

How to stay secure from data breaches:

• Encrypt all sensitive data both in storage and transit
• Pay attention to updates and patching for all software and systems
• Roll out MFA wherever possible for an extra security layer to block hackers

Malware infections compromise ecommerce operations, while successful ransomware attacks totally shut them down. Hackers install malware on your systems with things like, but not limited to, infected email attachments, compromised websites, or vulnerabilities in software and plugins.

Once cybercriminals get malware on your ecommerce platform, things can go sideways fast. Some malware variants are built to steal customer information for the long haul, flying under the radar for months. Others redirect customers to fraudulent sites or inject malicious code that infects visitors' computers, while more high-end variants manipulate transaction processing details.

Ransomware attacks are the new normal for ecommerce businesses. They’re a serious risk, shutting down operations by encrypting critical business files and demanding payment in cryptocurrency for decryption keys. Ransomware locks access to product databases, customer information, order histories, and administrative systems. And there’s never a guarantee that paying the ransom will actually restore access to the encrypted data.

Successful ransomware attacks are a major hassle: data recovery efforts, operational disruptions, security audits, employee stress, reporting obligations, insurance snarls, reputational damage, disappointed customers, and more.

But if you know what to look for, you can spot ransomware early in the attack path and shut it down fast before any damage is done.

How to stay safe against malware and ransomware:

• Spot malware early with enterprise-grade security solutions like Managed Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Managed Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), and Managed Antivirus
• Stay on track with updates and patching
• Store system backups offline so cybercriminals can’t hold them hostage for ransom
• Lay the groundwork for workplace security awareness with Managed Security Awareness Training (SAT)

Understanding cyber threats in the ecommerce industry is the first step to securing online businesses and solidifying customers’ trust with their personal and financial information. Good protection means stacking multiple layers of security that cover every possible weak spot without messing with the smooth customer experience that keeps sales rolling in.

By protecting ecommerce platforms against common cyber threats, you're safeguarding your business and the digital relationships that make ecommerce possible.