Improving Security of your Magento eCommerce Store

A string of high profile security breaches in the past few years – be it Target, Ebay, Sony or Ashley Madison – has made consumers very conscious of their online data. The current noise around FBI’s request for data from Apple also highlights the concerns of an increasingly security-conscious consumer. Any security breach can cause a huge loss of consumer trust and it is, therefore, of paramount importance that an online retailer actively works to protect its consumer’s data. Magento is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms, and its security features are top notch as the open source community continuously contributing to better it. However, there are some basic tips to help you improve your Magento eCommerce store’s security even further.

1. Keep an eye for updates and apply them immediately. Upgrades to eCommerce software help you to maintain a secure environment by providing feature upgrades, bug fixes, and critical security updates. These updates are designed to help you thwart the latest exploits and attacks. It’s in best interest not to ignore or postpone these updates as you can jeopardize your website’s security, and risk your customers’ sensitive data.

2. Use two-factor authentication. Gone are those days when you could solely rely on passwords. Two-factor authentication is the new standard in cybersecurity and is designed to mitigate almost all password-related Magento risks.

3. Create a custom path for your admin panel. Make it harder for today’s brute force attacks to locate admin path for your login page. So, if your administrator panel’s link is something like your-store.com/admin, then change it to something obscure like www.your-store.com/gr9qwe. This is one of the simplest steps you could take.

4. Restrict administrator access. Besides two-factor authentication and custom admin panel links, it is suggested that you restrict your Magento administrator page to a specific IP address by configuring rules within your site’s htaccess file.

5. Use encrypted connections. Strong SSL [Secure Sockets Layer] authentication for web and data protection is important for gaining customer trust. SSL certificates authenticate the identity of your business and encrypt the in-transit data. The lack of one will result in identity thieves wreaking havoc on your website by stealing your customers’ credit card details & other sensitive information.

6. Manage access points. There are multiple ways to access your site files and database. Based on your requirement, you can access your site through SSH or FTP. But, it is highly recommended that you use a unique, strong password for each method.

7. Make changes responsibly. One of the best features of Magento is the limitless scope of customization with thousands of extensions and themes. If applied without a proper audit, these extensions and themes can give attackers backdoor access to exploit your store. It is recommended to test out new changes in a sandbox before deploying. Also, automating & scheduling regular backups prove as a failsafe against data losses or security lapses.

8. Set your own password policy. The best practices for a strong password policy include:

• Use only unique passwords.
• Establish complexity requirements
• Change your password regularly
• Do not reuse passwords

As experts in developing Magento eCommerce stores for major retailers and brands globally, we meet every major stringent security requirements. To know more about our Magento solutions, write to us.