Crimes are being committed on an entirely new and different platform in this ever expanding age of digital technology. Companies nowadays not only have to protect their physical assets, contained within their workplaces, but they also have to provide security for the information contained within their computer systems. Regardless of the size of the business, the threat posed by cyber criminals is real. Here are five of the biggest cyber threats e-commerce websites need to be aware of and secure themselves against.

Malware

In the same way that it can infiltrate an individual's home computer, malware can make its way into a company's internal systems and steal important and confidential data, such as passwords. Employees are usually the ones who are unknowingly installing this into their system, opening the doors to a widespread data breach. Customer information, vital information held by the company or other data can be lost or stolen when malware infiltrates a business' systems.

Known Vulnerabilities

Within any type of software, there are known vulnerabilities that can be used against the companies who employ that software. Keeping things upgraded is the best defense against this type of threat, because the software developers are constantly working to improve their product, tighten its security and minimize the vulnerabilities.

Mobile Devices

With virtually everyone walking around with a phone in hand, it's not hard to see the threat that a breach of mobile devices is a serious one. Many individuals utilize their mobile devices for a variety of personal and business purposes. Information is sent and received through these devices, making them a real target for cyber criminals. As the vulnerabilities of these devices are made known, their makers work to fix these issues and increase their security.

Threats in Cloud Services

Cloud storage and computing is on the rise, making it an increasingly bigger target for hackers and cyber criminals to go after. Because there can be such incredibly large caches of information and data being stored by a company, it is a tempting mark for criminals to target. Poor cloud computing decisions can lead to huge security threats, breaches of information and loss of data.

Stolen Data Aggregation

When it comes to data theft, the more information a hacker can get, the more valuable it is to them. Data from just one business is not valued as much as data from a group of businesses, such as a chain of different locations, linked together through an interwoven computer system. Customer information, such as credit card numbers, can be compiled and stored by linked businesses in one central location. If a hacker was to access this, they would attain that information from every single one of those locations, not just one single store, making this a much larger and more valuable breach in their eyes.

As businesses continue to rely more and more on digital technology, and as more business is done online, these cyber attacks are only expected to grow. It's not a matter of if there will be an attempted hack on a business, but when. No matter how big or small a company may be, it's essential that they secure their computer systems in order to protect themselves and their customers.

Although it can come at an expense to the business, it's hard to put a price tag (News - Alert) on the security of your company's data and the confidential information of your customers. And, the cost of recovering from a cyber attack will undoubtedly be far greater than what preventative protection would have cost.

Companies need to stay vigilant and educate themselves on the best practices to minimize the threats posed by cyber attackers. Being aware of how a breach can happen is the first step towards closing that door and locking it, so that no one unwanted can get through.

About the Author

Gloria Kopp is a digital marketer and a business consultant from Manville city. She graduated from the University of Wyoming and started a career as a business writer. Now she works as a content manager at Essay Services. Besides, she is a regular contributor to such websites as Engadget, Essayroo, Huffington Post (News - Alert), etc. Read her latest post on Studydemic here.