Introduction
Online shopping trends are rising exponentially. Ecommerce involves tons of monetary transactions and exchanges of critical financial and personal data. Therefore, cyber attacks in e-commerce are more than in any other online business. Magento web development companies are always looking for the most effective ways to mitigate ecommerce cyber threats by taking effective e-commerce cyber security measures such as Magento 2 security scan through Magento 2 malware scanner and other tools.
Today, we will try to learn about Implementing robust security practices within Magento 2 to protect against cyber threats and ensure customer data safety.
Common Magento 2 Security Threats:
Let’s have a glimpse of common security threats to Magento 2 ecommerce storefronts.
- XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attack
- Code execution attack
- SQL injection attack
- CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) attack
- Brute force attack
- XML injection attacks
- Phishing
- Ransomware
- DoS (Denial of Service) attack
- Hacking of admin panel
- Hacked redirect
- Spamming
Why Magento 2 Security Is Important?
Magento is a feature-rich ecommerce platform boasting tons of various security features and functionalities. So, it’s a crucial question: why should Magento 2 developers go for advanced security settings in Magento 2 websites?
There are three prime reasons.
- Your Magento 2 storefront needs compliance with PCI and GDPR regulations.
- Your magento2 ecommerce requires malware and data leak prevention to reduce incidence of chances of malware entry and data breaches.
- Your ecommerce storefront should have website maintenance and upgrade plans as a part of hosting and support from your Magento development service.
In short, advanced security measures in Magento 2 offer the following.
- Protection of customer data.
- Safeguarding ecommerce business reputation and building trust among online shoppers.
- Prevent unauthorized access to Magento 2 ecommerce and save the business from fraud.
- Meet complaint requirements and honor the laws.
- Prevent Magento websites from various cyber security attacks and let them run smoothly.
Robust Security Practices for Magento 2
Leading Magento web development companies and Magento development services prescribe the following best security practices for Magento 2 ecommerce stores.
Unique URL for Admin Dashboard:
By default, mydomian.com/admin remains a URL for Magento admin panel access for its backend users. This everyone knows and can access the page easily.
So, setting a unique URL for access to the admin dashboard may save your backend access from malicious elements on the web.
You can do so by editing the env.php file during your Magento 2 installation in the app/etc directory. You can set unique and hard-to-guess URLs for the dashboard and keep security attackers from getting into the backend system. Of course, you must keep a note of the unique URL in a safe place.
Set Strong Access Credentials:
Setting a unique URL for the access page is not the end of the story. Further, you must set up a unique and strong username and password for your access credentials. Keep your unique username hard to guess and password with at least 12 characters long. You must include uppercase and lowercase characters along with numeric and odd symbols available on standard desktop and mobile keyboards.
Such a combination of character variance makes passwords strong and makes guessing jobs tough or impossible for attackers or their tools. Besides these, you must change your password periodically and never use any password repeatedly.
Introduce Two-factor Authentication:
Recently, the two-factor authentication system used widely and proved successful in the prevention of access to unauthorized users by cracking access credentials using the latest cracking tools and software. Fortunately, Magento 2 allows and prefers widespread use of 2FA for its backend and sometimes front-end users.
Two-factor authorization demands a secondary form of identification of the valid user by sending a code on their devices/mobiles giving an extra layer of security to unauthorized users.
Restricted Access by IP Address:
Magento 2 allows editing of the access directory during installation. Magento 2 developers can insert IP addresses they want to allow for access. It is highly convenient for stable IP addresses that seldom change.
Effective Magento 2 Security Extensions and Tools
Magento has a robust ecosystem with useful tools and extensions to meet security challenges. Expert and experienced Magento development companies always rely on the latest Magento 2 security extensions and tools developed by the Magento developer community. Let’s know some highly recommended extensions and tools.
Magento Security Scan Tool:
The tool serves the following purposes.
It scans Magento 2 website for malware, unauthorized access, and other security risks. The tool issues notifications when new vulnerabilities are detected. It also offers detailed reports to assist Magento 2 merchants in comprehending and mitigating various security threats and issues likely to occur.
WAF (Web Application Firewall):
It’s the most anticipated step to safeguard the Magento website from various vulnerabilities and potential threats prevailing on the web. It creates a powerful barrier to prevent common security attacks on the web, such as XSS (cross-site scripting), SQL injections, DDoS (distributed denial of service), etc.
The tool monitors traffic and blocks malicious requests from attackers. It also maintains performance and site availability during traffic spikes for DDoS attacks.
Magento reCAPTCHA:
It prevents spam and bots from accessing the storefront. The other benefits of the tool include protection for contacts, registrations, and review forms from various fraudulent activities and spamming. It saves your website from cluttering by spammers and maintains the integrity of user data and unauthorized access.
Tips to Protect Customer Data
Seasoned Magento development services from reputed Magento web development companies offer the following effective tips to protect user data for the Magento 2 store.
SSL Certificate:
Advanced encryption technology makes data transit safe and secure. So, look for a prestigious SSL certificate provider and install the latest technology on your Magento 2 site.
Regular Backup:
Think of multiple backups distributed among local and cloud storage facilities. So, you can prevent data loss and obtain quick recovery whenever the site crashes or anything mishappens.
Regular Updates:
Use the latest version of Magento by regularly updating your website for minor and major updates whether automated or manually. So, you can get the latest security patches.
Rotate Encryption Keys:
When you use encryption technology to protect your database on Magento, you must rotate and manage encryption keys to ensure advanced security.
PCI Compliance:
You must adhere to PCI standards prescribed by international authorities for payment gateways and other security measures. It might help your store to build trust among Magento shoppers globally.
Wrapping Up:
Ecommerce is a low-hanging fruit for malicious intended people operating on the web. With the increased transaction volumes, threats also increased many folds. Therefore, seasoned Magento web development companies and agencies are taking advanced Magento security measures described in the post.
For instance, best practices ensure the security of your Magento storefront, such as regular backup, updates, secure and advanced website access, etc.
Other measures are scanning for the Magento 2 website, auditing the online store, and using security extensions and tools.
If you are a Magento 2 merchant consulting a reputed Magento development company or a team it is mandatory to leverage the latest offerings on the e-commerce security front by the platform. Investment in security measures may build trust among shoppers and you can see the best ROI in the long run.
