The name Magento is not new for the world of web development. The open-source framework owned by Adobe happens to be one of the most preferred options for developing an e-commerce website.
Currently, it controls around seven percent of the e-commerce platform market share. Experts suggest about 62 percent of the sites using this framework showed some or the other security issue until a few months back.
A Favorite Target For Hackers
The platform recently made it in the headlines for all wrong reasons. It has proved to be a favorite target for hackers who try to steal customer’s card details stored by various e-commerce sites. Such data is often later sold on the dark web.
E-commerce portals store personal as well as payment-related information for thousands of customers. Thus, at times, due to a lack of security measures, they prove to be sitting ducks, waiting for hackers to strike.
Cybersecurity experts from around the world pointed out the hackers used vulnerabilities in a cross-site scripting, SQL injection, and remote code execution to steal data. As many as 300,000 e-commerce websites using Magento open source and premium platforms were vulnerable to attacks until security patches were released to control the same.
Why Does It Happen?
There is no doubt that every website and web app faces threats from hackers. Even the world-class IT team employed by Starwood hotels (Marriott) was unable to prevent hackers from accessing its customer data stored in its in-house system.
The award-winning cybersecurity firm Edgescan’s CEO Eoin Keary recently interacted with journalists and shared his opinion on issues surrounding the Magento platform. He pointed out that hackers can exploit the SQL injection vulnerability only due to the lack of awareness and poor coding skills of developers who design the sites.
As far as SQL injection vulnerability is concerned, Keary believes SQL injection flaws are a result of using legacy code and poor coding standards.
Cybercriminals are often masters when it comes to covering their tracks. However, they may end up exposing their presence somewhere. Eoin Keary suggests Magento website owners need to keep track of IoC (indicator of compromise) logs and web servers to check suspicious activity. In case if something unusual is detected, administrators need to opt for detailed forensics for ensuring the system remains secure.
Another crucial step that storeowners and webmasters need to take is installing updates as soon as they are made available. Recently, Magento released an update that dealt with 130 vulnerabilities, including those for SQL injection, cross-site request forgery, information leakage, and denial-of-service. Overall, the recent patches released for various versions of the framework took care of Magecart attacks triggered by criminal gangs to target the structure.
Steps That Can Help In Securing Websites
Like any other website, Magento e-shop also needs a defense mechanism. Put simply, failure in implementing security patches is one of the primary reasons behind the spike in attacks on Magento sites. Ensuring that add-ins (extensions) and the overall software is updated can help in securing the e-commerce portal. Admin panels need multi-factor authentication, strong passwords. Last but not least, the best online cybersecurity monitoring tools need to in place at all times.
Blocking Visitors From Unnecessary Countries
Most of the e-commerce websites operate and serve orders from limited sets of countries. Cybersecurity experts urge administrators to block access for unwanted countries. Several tools can help in blocking, redirecting visitors according to the geographical region.
For example, if your portal sells stuff in the UK and the US, you can consider blocking malicious traffic from other countries. Administrators often block traffic from Russia, China, North and South Korea, etc. to protect the site from attacks.
Monitor Suspicious Activities Reported By Clients
As mentioned earlier, monitoring suspicious activities remains significant for developers and vendors. Using extensions like Admin Actions Log can be the best solution.
Setting alerts for unsuccessful login attempts, announcements for login attempts from unusual locations can help. Experts also recommend setting a web security scanner to scan and look for vulnerabilities after regular intervals automatically.
Besides the above, developers should also consider replacing FTP with SFTP protocol.
Opting For HTTPS Is Crucial
Whenever the administrators access the shopping portal’s backend using a public Wi-Fi hotspot, the site remains exposed to the MitM attack. With food chains, malls, and government buildings offering free hotspots, the temptation is hard to resist.
Implementing HTTPS ensures the data is transferred using SSL/TLS protocol, absolutely safely. It offers protection from hackers using a MitM attack technique.
Using A Complicated Password For The Admin Panel
The Magento shop security’s base is the password used by the primary administrator.
Unfortunately, studies indicate that around 15 percent of professionals around the world end up using a standard password for all their admin panels.
Remember, using an identical password means putting accounts and related data at risk. Password for every site and every email account needs to be unique.
A secure password would ensure that even the best cracking software won’t be able to decode the same. It should consist of letters, numbers, and special characters.
Updating The Backend URL
When it comes to facing brute force attacks and fighting bots, changing backend URL and making it hard to guess can do the trick. After completing the procedure, the old address should show the 404 error page.
Installing Updates
Overall, Magento and Magento 2 got around 130 product quality enhancements and performance upgrades. The page loading time for sites has reportedly improved by 20 percent as per experts who offer Magento mobile apps development services. The credit mainly goes to Adobe’s sophisticated security tools released to benefit Magento.Are you looking for a reputed Magento development company India? Do you wish to secure your e-commerce portal with the best security features available? You should surely discuss your requirements or security issues with specialists at Smart Sight Innovations. The firm has developed a reputation as a reputed Magento mobile app development company by working with clients from a variety of sectors.
