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Security Features to Protect Customer Data - and Your Brand
Security Features to Protect Customer Data - and Your Brand

While demonstrating secure sales channels to customers helps build brand loyalty, there’s more to online store security than just that. After all, you want to run an ethical business, protect yourself from lawsuits, protect your own earnings and make sure someone doesn’t try to take your site down.

As a storeowner, you have plenty of ways to protect your site against malicious activity. Some cost money, some are free, but all of them are effective. We’ve put together a list of resources to help you make the right choice for your business.

1. McAfee SECURE
From one of the most trusted names in security comes an extra level of PCI compliance; daily scans to check for more than 40,000 possible vulnerabilities; additional services that help reduce shopping cart abandonments and bounce rates; and more. The McAfee brand is well-known, which also means advertising McAfee SECURE to customers will help inspire higher trust in your brand.

2. IP Blocking
Available with some shopping cart suites (Shift4Shop included), IP blocking offers you an easy way to make sure no one can sign into your account from an unrecognized IP address. That way, if a hacker gets ahold of your login information, IP blocking won’t let them sign on from their computer. Think of it in a similar way you think of a kill switch for your car; if an untrusted party tries to access your site, they’re shut down.

3. Verisign TrustSeal
Recently purchased by Symantec, Verisign is a leader in SSL encryption and daily malware search and protection. The service has been pulled in under the Norton Secured Seal following its purchase, but it still provides customer confidence when shoppers visit your site.

4. Google Trusted Stores
A free, new service from the search giant, Google Trusted Stores is a great way to build a new bridge between Google and your store. The program offers purchase protection for your customers, inspiring more trust in your online store.

5. buySAFE
The buySAFE seal is another measure to inspire trust in your store. But it’s also a guarantee that monitors performance in every transaction. It also guarantees transactions with a bond from the company and its surety partners—companies like Liberty Mutual, Travelers and ACE USA.

by Gonzalo Gil Google