Broadly speaking, every form of conducting business transactions in the online environment benefits from a certain level security, and finalizing it requires the correct credentials and authentication. However, the protection is not always 100% effective and issues sometimes manage to slip through the cracks.
What follows is compromising the credentials of your clients, canceled transactions, refund requests and, evidently, a stain on your business reputation. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehend the basic aspects of online payment security and implement a system that reduces the liability. A proactive attitude in this sense is your best approach.
Ensuring compliance with the PCI golden standards
Payment Card Industry standards are essentially a list of 12 prerequisites that all businesses that conduct transactions online using credit cards, debit cards and money transfers services should adhere to, for good measure. Implemented back in 2006 when the online market was still relatively in its infancy stages, the role of the PCI SSD is to regulate transactions and assist retailers in securing the private and financial information of their clients. Naturally, the actual implementation of each prerequisite takes into account individual variables regarding your company’s size, your line of work, your accepted payment methods, etc.
Encrypting the data transmission for every transaction
The utilization of encryption tech is the next mandatory step to take in terms of securing customer information. It works by adding an extra layer of security to the data transmitted between the client and the retailer’s network, and it’s a guarantee that your company is taking the safety issue very seriously. The necessity for encryption has increased over the last couple of years with the abundance of free and unsecured Wi-Fi networks, and the growing number of cyber crimes like identity theft.
Securing the login
The login screen represents one of the most critical vulnerabilities for the exploitation by malicious third party apps. However, let’s not forget that it’s commonplace for clients to forget their login details, and the system should account for that possibility without minimizing the effectiveness of the security. One way to deal with the problem implies a “Forgot my password” section, where the user can enter a secondary email address that was previously registered with your website to receive a temporary password. This feature is easy to implement and goes a long way to deter hackers.
Maintaining the OS and applications updated
The developer of the operating system and applications you are currently using is regularly releasing patches to address exploit vulnerabilities and new threats. Therefore, although you might sometimes be tempted to forego the update because you’re busy using the system and they require a restart, it’s better to take those extra few minutes and apply the patches rather than risk your customers’ information.
Hiring an expert to perform a security assessment
Finally, since there may still be certain liabilities in your system that you have overlooked, book a security audit with a reputable expert and tie up loose ends. These services know exactly what to look for and where to look for it, and obtaining a green light from them means you’re on top of your security requirements.