Magento Website Security: Best Practices for Protection

Hacked website is a nightmare of any eCommerce business. Even a little intervention can lead to huge losses for the company. If you find an intervention fast enough, you should spend money and time on vulnerability elimination. In this case, you may get off lightly. If the interference is more serious it can lead to massive problems and huge costs for the business owner up to business closure.

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In this article we will consider most common cases of website hacking.

‍How can we describe quality software?

‍High quality software must work as it is supposed to. If the software doesn’t do what it should or does what it shouldn’t, we can say that this is a vulnerability of the software. One should also understand the difference between functional errors and security errors. These terms are quite similar but they are two different issues.

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For example, the impossibility of getting authorized access to data and functions is a functional bug. Security vulnerability is a possibility to get unauthorized access to your data and functions.

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From this point we should know what can happen when hackers get a different kind of access. If they get access to observe your system data, they can destroy your site. They get access to all your client databases, all marketing activity, prices, and sales. Customers databases will show all telephone numbers and emails, so your competitors can steal your customers with some better offers. The marketing information gives a possibility to make strategic moves and star competitors sales earlier than you,  set lower prices and get the most part of your audience.This vulnerability won’t ruin your business but can bring a lot of damage.

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The problem is that the leak is extremely difficult to find as there is no interference in the operation of the system. Modification is a data change but it’s not crucial. Customers can continue using the service, your website isn’t broken.

What can intruders do to your website?

1. They can change some of your data. For example, erase telephone numbers and emails of your customers. Loss of customer data will lead to a decrease in profits.
2. Your prices can be changed also, customers choose more acceptable price and you still lose your profits.
3. Breaking links and images. These actions annoy customers so they’ll leave the webstore. Website’s bounce rate increases. That is an issue for Google ranking.

Any modification is easy to notice and you can fix everything quite fast.

Data destruction

That’s the issue. Your website is destroyed and if you are internet-based company it can be the end of your business.  The only thing that can save your data is a back up.

Attention! Doing backups is not a problem solvation.

Your web store still has the same level of vulnerability and you still need to find and fix it.

What can hackers do with function access?

• Add virus and Trojan programs
• Create interference in the system that will decrease productivity and create functional inaccuracies
• Use of system resources as part of the botnet to store their data
• Total system destruction

Check some obvious things which can protect any website.

1. Advanced Password RequirementsYou can set  a list of requirements for passwords like length, use of digits, capital letters and special symbols. No more “123456” passwords
2. 2FA Two-factor Authorization is becoming a must  in internet security. It makes user accounts harder to hack and get access to your website data.
3. Activity NotificationsBe  aware of all actions on your website. You can check all notifications for login/logout, data changes. So you can notice unauthorized changes on the site on time and avoid serious issues.
4. Users ManagementYou should always have an ability to lock users with suspicious activity. Some extensions can add a lock button so you can lock users manually.
5. Always use the latest CMS version! Developers constantly make security patches and updates to improve CMS performance  and customer’s security. System update is easier and cheaper than fixing after hacking.
6. Scan your website for viruses. Scan your website regularly. For such cases you can use MageReport online scanner.

There are a lot extensions for all these functions. In Neklo we have created an extension that provides various function in one Security Suite.  Neklo developers  assemble all needed features in one  security extension so you don’t need a lot of different modules. To prevent hacking is always easier than curing a hacked project