Unfortunately, along with the rapid development of technology, the arsenal of skills of cyber criminals also improves. Sven Kabanen, CEO of Orgaaniline Elu OÜ, speaks from his own experience about what are the main cyber threats to online retailers and how to improve e-store systems in order to successfully counter cyber attackers.
“You have to start dealing with the security issues of the page right from the creation of the page. It should be based on the principle that it is better to do it right now than to patch up the “holes” later,” confirmed Sven Kabanen, CEO of Organic Life, who also manages the Dr.OHHIRA® online store for probiotic food supplements and skin care products in Estonia.
Spam requests try to overload the web page
The main cyber threats that Kabanen’s team has encountered while managing the Dr.OHHIRA® online store are also the most common bottlenecks of e-stores – the risk of data leakage and attempts to hijack the page.
“From time to time, there have been attempts to hijack our page and enter code. Attempts have been made to repeatedly overload the page with requests for information from China. Attempts have also been made to post phishing links in the comments and hack admin accounts,” Kabanen described, but fortunately they were prepared for this and all these attempts have remained only attempts.
“However, after the attack attempts, we have performed additional security analyzes every time, strengthened possible security holes if necessary and raised the security level of our page by acquiring paid automated security checks,” said Kabanen. They have also replaced insecure and outdated website modules from time to time.
Working practices to prevent a cyber attack
“Unfortunately, with the rapid development of technology, the arsenal of skills of cyber criminals is also constantly improving,” stated Kabanen. That’s why it’s important to stay up to date with what’s happening in the IT world and constantly modernize and improve your systems accordingly.
According to Kabanen, a well-manned team helps ensure the security of e-shops. “A professional team consisting of six people is responsible for the operation and security of our website and e-shop. Among others, our support team includes a certified IT security expert who has worked in the national level and participated in NATO’s cyber war, protecting important information systems for the country.”
To ensure the security of the website and e-store, the company has added automatic updates to the website’s systems and, if necessary, raised the security level of devices and accounts. Plugins and programs that are added to the page from time to time to increase user convenience are always certified and have undergone thorough analyzes and security checks. The administrator of the Dr.OHHIRA® e-store also considers it important to monitor updates and requirements regarding the security of user data (privacy policy, or GDPR).
They have installed proper security programs and firewalls on employee devices, and their IT validates all programs that employees use on the devices. Also, IT support immediately informs them when a threat arises and responds to it promptly – generally the same day.
Organic Life uses Telia as one of its partners, whose They reached Turvanet for very practical reasons. “Since the service quality of the previous provider was uncertain and the connection unstable, the stability and quality of the Telia network became decisive. The additional security measures offered by the network are a pleasant bonus here,” said the manager of the Dr.OHHIRA® online store.
