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Vigilance, communication key to enhancing e-commerce security

16th January 2015

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Information technology (IT) and e-commerce security is a complex and ever-changing problem that requires vigilance, good communication and partnerships to meet the scale and complexity of cyberthreats to online businesses, says networking specialist company F5 Networks senior security engineer Martin Walshaw.

The active monitoring of threats, including the discovery and dissemination of information about malicious websites that attempt to target users of certain e-commerce websites or applications (apps), is required to ensure good-quality e-commerce security.

“Security is a continuous process and security personnel at companies must be vigilant to potential and discovered threats. Further, communication with users of the website or of the business’s apps is required to enable the users to secure themselves against potential threats or fraud.”

Partnerships between security and networking firms are best practice and common within the IT industry to counter the surging growth of threats to IT systems.

“Companies should also consider additional layers of security if flags are raised, such as when the request comes from a different territory or at a time inconsistent with the user’s typical behaviour.

“It is not best practice to completely prevent questionable transactions, as the user may be in another country or time zone and the transaction request may be legitimate. However, asking the user to complete additional security checks to ensure robust verification is a good way of improving security while reducing the impact on the user experience.”

Common antivirus programs, while necessary to provide basic security on end-user devices, do not afford the requisite level of protection to secure e-commerce transactions and must be supported through active monitoring and engagement with end-users to improve the security of the company’s e-commerce website or app, he notes.

However, end-users are still a crucial part of the security ecosystem and, thus, must also be empowered to protect themselves from potential threats, he emphasises.

Highly complex and targeted attacks, sometimes sustained over a long time, are difficult to counter and threats can even result from acquaintances whose emails or accounts have been hacked and subsequently used to target other accounts.

“People must be aware of risks when transacting online and must consider whether to take additional measures to secure themselves.

“While end-users must expect the companies they deal with to have robust security in place, it is impossible for these companies to completely secure end-user devices or guide their decisions. This means that some of the onus remains on end-users to secure themselves.”

The importance of the role of customers in securing themselves necessitates good communication with clients, including managing customer expectations when confirming additional security verifications and making them aware of identified threats.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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