Are you concerned about Cyber Security? If you are operating an online store front, you should be. Magento is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms, which makes it a good target for malicious actors. In this post we’ll briefly review some of the most common security threats to Magento platforms, how they can be addressed, and why having a team like ours can help ensure the safety of you and your customers.
Magento Vulnerabilities
Adobe is constantly reviewing Magento’s vulnerabilities and providing security patches to address them. Nevertheless, there are several ways that hackers can attempt to steal the information of your customers and try to gain access to your systems. The three most common threats are the following.
XSS
Also known as cross-scripting, XSS is a common tool where attackers essentially use something like a submission form on your site to inject code. That code injection can give them the ability to steal card information or other personal data.
Remote code execution attacks
An attacker gains access to the server, typically through some previous data theft, and uses that access to execute remote codes on the Magento server. They can execute extensions that target not just your website but other applications on the server.
Injection vulnerabilities
Similar to XSS, attackers use input fields to inject SQL code that allows them to access data, change user permissions, or gain access to your site without any credentials.
As stated, these are just the most common threats to Magento sites. There are other ways to bypass security, and new vulnerabilities are being discovered all the time.
How to Protect Your Store
Fortunately, for every effort to exploit vulnerabilities in websites, there are corresponding efforts to eliminate or avoid those threats. As with any platform, there are basic best practices that every business should follow, and there are specific steps to target the problems we highlighted above.
Input validation
XSS attacks work because sites have ways for customers to submit their information via tools like contact request forms or product reviews. To prevent attackers from using this avenue, you can implement restrictions on what kind of content customers can input there (eg no special characters) or clean up input data before it has a negative impact.
Stay up to date with security patches
Remote code execution attacks can be tricky because they don’t come through your site, they come through the server you are using. Adobe knows this, which is why they are so diligent about maintaining secure servers. If you do a good job of staying up to date with the latest patches, you can be reasonably sure you are protected from RCE.
Vulnerability tracking
Specifically, when it comes to SQL injections, there are specific vulnerabilities to scan for. For example, are there any users with “sqlmap” or something similar in their name? That’s a good sign an automated system created that user. Input fields can also be protected and processed properly to prevent malicious code from working even if it gets input.
Development Teams Provide Peace of Mind
As it may be clear by now, if you are operating a Magento storefront, you have created a powerful shopping experience that is a potential target for attack. There are steps you can take to head off the majority of efforts, but cyber security can be a full-time effort that requires attention, quick response times, and the ability to pre-emptively address issues.
A development team can provide crucial support in a number of areas. They can implement and maintain the solutions we’ve discussed, as well as any others required for different problems. A good team will stay up to date on the latest issues and will do their best to ensure that your site has those solutions patched before they become a problem. Development teams also have the expertise to access and interpret site activity logs to determine where your specific vulnerabilities are and how best to address them. If necessary, the solution can include custom code that will maintain site functionality.
Our team has experience supporting and protecting a wide array of Magento storefronts. If you would like to learn more about how our team can help you start protecting you and your customers, we’d love to discuss how we can help.