The Connection Between eCommerce and Online Security

Featured article by Dan Radak, Independent technology Author

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that eCommerce has completely revolutionized the world of retail as we know it. Instead of going to a store and browsing through the limited number of items they have in offer, you now have the opportunity to log-in onto your e-store account and buy anything you like. Unlike with real stores where you would have to travel to a different location (which also adds to the price of the purchased product) all you have to do here is open a new tab in your browser. However, not everything is so great in the world of eCommerce either. One of the biggest issue concerning this is the matter of online security. Here are few things you need to know about this connection.

Image source: Flickr

What is Phishing

Anyone who browses the internet in 2016 should know a thing or two about the phenomenon of phishing. What this usually means is that you need to know if the website or email you are dealing with are real, or if they are just a hoax meant to trick you into giving your password away. Luckily, there are numerous signs that you have stumbled upon fake email or website, like a link to a completely unrelated website, incorrect company name, or even a missing forward slash (/). One of the most common attempts of such a scam are those sites that try to represent themselves as Yahoo. Namely, Yahoo sign-in page starts with a “https://” while these phishing sites usually omit the “s”, so the page starts with “http://” instead. Think about it this way, losing your email password can be bad, but on an e-store you could even use your credit card number and CVV number.

Asking for Too Much Information

Another sign that something fishy is going on, is when someone online asks for too many information. Of course, when you intend to purchase an item, you may be asked to log into your account and fill in some blanks about your payment method. Still, experts behind PromisePay claim that the key to good identity verification of buyer lies in sticking to need-to-know principle. In other words, the less information an e-store asks the more likely it is that they are the real deal. Of course, there is no 100 percent guarantee, but sticking to this rule alone can save you from a world of inconvenience.

Image source: Flickr

Enter Behavioral Psychology

As we already mentioned, the key to trust between a seller and a buyer lies in asking as little questions as possible. Still, this makes it extremely difficult for a website owner to recognize if someone’s online identity has been compromised. Luckily, there is a solution on the horizon. One interesting startup called BioCatch, started combining mathematical algorithms and behavior psychology in search for answer. That is to say, each one of us have our own patterns of behavior. For example, when you log onto a certain page one person always scrolls left while the other one scrolls down. According to people in charge of the startup, these subtle signs are not nearly as unreliable as they may first appear. This way, even if your account becomes compromised, search engine algorithms should be able to detect irregularities right away.

Conclusion

The appearance of eCommerce is, without doubt, one of the greatest revolutions in the history of business. The only thing that prevents absolutely everyone from hopping onto this train is a fact that a lot of people are still suspicious towards the safety of spending their money in a virtual environment. The only two ways of fighting this are raising the awareness of potential hazards of the internet and improvement of security techniques and policies. Luckily, we live in an era of great innovation and these radical changes are something we can expect in the nearest future.

Dan Radak is a marketing professional with ten years of experience. He is currently working with a number of companies in the field of digital marketing, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies. He is also a coauthor on several technology websites and regular contributor to Technivorz.