Due to its features and regular updates, Magento has become an important authority in the online store industry.
The Datanyze eCommerce Platforms Market Share Report states that in Alexa Top 1 Million, 12708 online stores or e-commerce websites are now using Magento and these stores dominate 14.31% of the market, and this is quite a significant portion.
So, if you’re looking to launch an online store this year, you can choose to learn more about Magento.
Online stores are trendy because they are all in the queue of creating websites for their products. Thus, online attacks are very active nowadays. For safety purposes, we need more powerful security of our online store.
You can even Hire the best Magento development company for your website security. You can compare the experiences of developers and what kind of Magento stores they’re handling so far.
There are also advanced features that customization and other extensions can add at a minimal cost.
The best thing about Magento is the security of its platform. Unlike any other e-commerce platform where security is an extra feature you add, for the Magento team, security is embedded right into the heart of the platform.
Security, as you may know, is a major concern for all online merchants because of one simple factor—customer information, even from the smallest online stores, is worth millions to cybercriminals.
A Case for Security
As mentioned, security is clearly important for merchants, regardless of the size of their store and how long it has been operational. However, most merchants are unaware of the excellent security services Magento offers.
It is obvious that when there is a shop, there will be thieves. And the world of e-commerce has its ample share of criminals.
These criminals are always on the lookout to discover a weakness in the coding of online stores so they can shimmy inside.
Generally, these dangerous factors penetrate websites to carry out dubious activities such as
- Phishing (the effort to obtain sensitive data such as credit/debit card details or passwords)
- Spamming
- Stealing customer data
- Harming or defacing your website
If data is stolen as a result of a hacker attack, you stand to lose your customer base and it can ruin your reputation and damage your customers.
Despite the regular patches that Magento team delivers, there are several Magento security practices that you can follow to prevent ruining your efforts.
15 Security Practices to Protect Your Magento Website:
Here are some tips to keep your Magento online store more secure:
1. Don’t Keep Using Older Magento Versions
Magento is slowly pushing its 2.0 version into the market and most merchants are unwilling to jump ship as they think that the new version may not be secured properly.
While it is accurate, it is also an issue that is easily abated as developers mostly fix earlier issues of security in the latest releases.
Thus, it is important to remain informed about the new Magento version. Once a stable version is released, testing should be performed before the implementation.
2. 2FA
A secure password is not enough in today’s world. To thwart attacks, two-factor authentication (2FA) might be the best option for security for your Magento site.
The 2.0 version of Magento provides an amazing 2FA extensive which adds a cover of stealth. It allows only assigned devices to enter Magento backend by using four distinct kinds of authenticators.
The inbuilt Magento 2FA extension provides you the chance to improve the safety of your admin login on Magento by using a security code and password. Remember that the code is shared only with designated users to enter the admin panel on Magento.
Moreover, there are a bunch of other extensions that offer 2FA so that users don’t need to worry about security risks on Magento related to passwords anymore.
3. Custom Magento admin path
You can enter your admin panel on Magento by continuing to my-site.com/admin. However, it is simple for hackers to enter your admin login side on Magento and begin a brute power attack.
You can prevent this by /admin with a personalized term like Store Door. It also prevents hackers from entering your admin login page despite gathering your password.
You can modify the admin path on Magento by choosing the local.xml file in Magento 1. You can do the same as the env.php file on Magento 2.
4. Get an Encrypted Connection
There are dangers involved when you send data, such as your login details, over an unencrypted connection. The biggest risk is that this data can be intercepted. This interception allows cybercriminals to look into your details. To eradicate such issues, it is important to use a safe connection.
In Magento, you are able to get a safe HTTPS/SSL URL by simply opening the tab of Use Secure URLs in the menu of system configuration.
It is, additionally, one of the most important elements in keeping your Magento site acquiescent with the PCI data security measure and in ensuring your online transactions.
If you wish to acquire an SSL certification, you can try Let’s Encrypt to begin. It also helps you in keeping compliance with the PCI standards.
5. Keep an Active Backup Plan
Although it is commendable that you are taking strict preventive measures for Magento security, it is equally significant to have a backup that is functioning.
This includes getting downloadable backups and hourly backup plans. If due to any reason, your store gets hacked or even if the whole website crashes, the plan will make sure your work runs seamlessly without interruptions.
You can avoid the loss of your data by keeping the backup files on an external location or by adjusting for backups through a provider online. It is always smart to check with the hosting provider if they have a backup strategy.
6. Incapacitate Directory Indexing
Incapacitating directory indexing is a way to enhance the security of your Magento site. Once the option of directory indexing is disabled, you can conceal the various ways through which the domain files are saved.
It prevents cybercriminals to access the core files of the website powered by Magento. However, if they know the whole path of files, then they still access the data.
7. Create a Secure Magento Password
As physical stores need a lock and key to enter, so does your Magento store. They key in this context is your password. This is why you need to pay close attention when you are creating your password.
- When you create a password, mix lowercase and capital letters, special characters and number
- Moreover, never use the password you use for your Magento store to log in for any other site. It is recommended to keep your Magento password different from the rest to make it hard for hackers to discover your password
- Change your passwords regularly, it should never be constant. Change your passwords at least every six months, so even when your password is stolen, it is rendered worthless when you make constant changes.
- Never store your password on your PC. A major part of Trojan software is that it steals saved passwords, thus, you have to be alert with FTP clients and browsers since passwords are often stolen through such applications.
- You must never save passwords using this software in the absence of the master password (a password enciphering the other passwords while retaining access specifications). If you neglect doing so, it can cause data leaks.
8. Remove Email Loopholes
Magento offers its users with excellent recovery facilities for your passwords through the email address that is pre-configured.
But if that email address is hacked, your entire Magento site gets exposed. You have to ensure that the email ID you use for Magento is not known publicly and it is secured with 2FA.
9. Invest in a Solid Hosting Plan
It is not recommended, and it is a cheap, vulnerable solution when e-commerce enterprises choose shared hosting. It is true that most Magento startups opt for shared hosting, but buying in shared hosting means you are jeopardizing the store’s Magento security.
Another option is dedicated hosting but it might prove to be not enough for your requirements as you will be limited to one server.
It hinders your resources. Also, if your site sees a sudden rise in traffic, the website will malfunction. On the other hand, Managed Magento Hosting Platforms can be your best option—it guarantees solid security with regular patches at the level of the servers.
Stay away from cheap hosting plans; they usually do not have an idea about Magento security problems.
10. Avoid MySQL Injection
Magento offers excellent assistance to defeat any MySQL Injection, but it is not ideal to depend on them. It is recommended that you install firewalls for your web applications such as NAXSI to make sure your site and your customers are safe.
11. Magento Security Reviews
Not all Magento developers are experts in security. Yes, many developers are expert at coding but only some know the complexities of Magento security. That is why you must get your website evaluated at least twice a year for safety lapses and possible loopholes.
12. Initiate Contact with Magento Community
Magento has a flourishing community of experts who are always there to help when you need them. You can look up and send queries concerning any safety problems of Magento or its innovations on various tech forums on the Internet.
The members of the Magento Community also publish security reports on several versions of Magento, so try to find these to keep yourself updated.
13. Block All Countries You Are Not Marketing To
If your store does not ship internationally, block every other country. There is a great tool, GeoIP Legacy Apache Module, which helps you block, allow or redirect users based on their country.
For instance, if you ship your products to the UK only, you need to protect yourself from attacks from other countries, especially China since plenty of ill-disposed traffic originated from the country. When you block it, you avoid any attempts to break in from the country.
14. Secure FTTP
To hack a site, most assailants do so by guessing or capturing the FTP passwords. To ensure this doesn’t happen to you, it is important you use safe passwords and use the Secure File Transfer Protocol which uses a private key file for authenticating or decrypting a user.
15. Magento Admin Panel Security Key
In the e-commerce platform of Magento 2, you can efficiently supplement a secret code with URLs. The code or key will let only those with passage to the admin panel enter whole making sure hackers or eavesdroppers are kept at bay.
Also, you can improve your Magento security even more by installing a keyboard inactivity period as a rule. This will terminate the session and put in an admin lock.
Conclusion
Magento is an excellent platform for developing a flourishing online store due to its support team working constantly on security and maintenance updates to ensure the safety to its users.
But even with this guarantee of support, online store merchants must stay watchful in their endeavors to keep their online stores running smoothly and safely.
You can follow the abovementioned tip to help thwart those who would harm you and your customers, and always remember to stay up to date with the best safety practices for your site. As the old adage says, “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
