What are The Threats of Online Business in The Philippines?

It is an undeniable fact that the e-commerce security threats of online business are causing havoc in online transactions. The industry experiences up to 32.4% of all successful threats annually. Hackers usually target e-commerce store admins, users, and employees using a myriad of malicious techniques.

Because of this, many businesses are unprepared for the security threats that come with running an e-commerce company. In an ideal world, brick-and-mortar stores can run without worrying too much about security due to systems and setups put in place by the government of their respective localities.

Related: What is SWOT Analysis in Online Business?

What are Online Threats?

Online threats are a category of cybersecurity risks that may cause an undesirable event or action via the internet.

The threats of online selling are made possible by end-user vulnerabilities, web service developers/operators, or web services themselves. Regardless of intent or cause, the consequences of an online threat may damage both individuals and organizations.

Internet-based threats expose people and computer systems to harm online. A broad scope of dangers fits into this category, including well-known threats such as phishing and computer viruses. However, other threats, like offline data theft, can also be considered part of this group.

What are The Types of Online Threats in The Philippines?

Your business is at threat from cyber attacks more than it ever has been. The rate of attacks continues to grow along with the different methods of attack. The solution to protecting your business is to understand the threats. Here are 5 types of client threats in e-commerce in the Philippines.

See also: What is the Business Model Canvas?

Malware

The Malware is an abbreviated form of “malicious software.” This is a type of unwanted software that is installed without your consent. Malware is specifically designed to gain access to or damage a computer. 

There are various types of malware that include adware, ransomware, spyware, viruses, worms and Trojan horses.

Various factors can make computers more vulnerable to malware attacks, including defects in the operating system (OS) design, all of the computers on a network running the same OS or giving users too many permissions.

Cybercriminals

Criminals, such as black hat hackers, who use malevolent programs on a computer and the internet to commit illegal activity. 

This can be breaking into computers and stealing personal or corporate data or disrupting operations. Cybercriminals will use a host of tactics and methods to gain access.

The laws related to cybercrime continue to evolve across various countries worldwide. Law enforcement agencies are also continually challenged when it comes to finding, arresting, charging, and proving cybercrimes.

Trojan Horse

A Trojan horse is a destructive commuter program that pretends to be a benign file or application (such as .jpg or .doc) it then opens a backdoor or access to your PC without your knowledge.

Once activated, Trojans can enable cyber-criminals to spy on you, steal your sensitive data, and gain backdoor access to your system.

Botnet

A botnet is a large network of compromised computers. A bot is a malicious software that enables cybercriminals to control your computer without your knowledge and use it to execute illegal activities such as sending out spam emails, spreading viruses etc.

What you need to be careful of are the illegal and malicious botnets. What happens is that botnets gain access to your machine through some piece of malicious coding.

Virus

Harmful computer programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and interfere with computer operations. A virus can corrupt or delete data on your computer and damage your hard drive.

A computer virus, much like a flu virus, is designed to spread from host to host and can replicate itself. Similarly, in the same way that flu viruses cannot reproduce without a host cell, computer viruses cannot reproduce and spread without programming such as a file or document.

Related: Why is Online Business Good in the Pandemic?

What are The Possible Threats to E-Business in The Philippines?

There are just so many e-commerce frauds that are plaguing the industry currently. Here are 6 possible security threats in e-commerce in the Philippines.

Financial Frauds

Credit and debit card fraud is even more insidious, and research shows it is the number one kind of identity theft fraud, responsible for a whopping 35.4 percent of all identity theft fraud. Credit and debit card fraud is so serious that an estimated $24+ billion is lost to it annually.

In essence, credit and debit card fraud occurs when users steal the credit card or debit card details of unsuspecting victims and then use it to make a purchase on your e-commerce store.

Not knowing that the details used to purchase from you are stolen, you go ahead and release the product or service to them. When the real user learns of this fact, they request a refund or issue a chargeback to your e-commerce business.

This results in lost revenue and could potentially hurt your standing with your payment processor.

Phishing

Several e-commerce shops have received reports of their customers receiving messages or emails from hackers masquerading to be the legitimate store owners. Such fraudsters present fake copies of your website pages or another reputable website to trick the users into believing them.

Spamming

Some bad players can send infected links via email or social media inboxes. They can also leave these links in their comments or messages on blog posts and contact forms. Once you click on such links, they have opportunities to direct you to their spam websites, where you may end up being a victim.

Apart from lowering your website security, spamming also reduces its speed and severely affects performance.

DoS & DDoS Attacks

A distributed denial of service attack, or DDoS attack, is an attack in which an attacker uses multiple computers to hit your server with fake traffic in order to make your website inaccessible, or unable to function properly, for legitimate users.

While many are used to hearing about sites “hacked” or compromised in a way that leads to data being exposed, very few are familiar with DDoS attacks and how damaging they can be; even the biggest e-commerce brands have fallen victims to these attacks.

Malware

Hackers may design malicious software and install it on your IT and computer systems without your knowledge. These malicious programs include spyware, viruses, trojans, and ransomware.

The systems of your customers, admins, and other users might have Trojan Horses downloaded on them. These programs can easily swipe any sensitive data that might be present on the infected systems and may also infect your website.

SQL Injections

SQL injections are generally regarded as the most common form of cyber attack today, and e-commerce businesses aren’t exempt.

These attacks involve hackers trying to gain access to your e-commerce site by injecting malicious SQL commands into existing scripts that your site needs to operate. 

Once successful, this changes how your site reads key data and allows the hacker to execute certain commands on your site or shut it down at will.

How Ginee Can Reduce Potential Threats of Online Business in The Philippines?

The Global Intelligence & E-commerce Engine, also known as Ginee, came into the scene in 2020. It’s a convenient ERP system for entrepreneurs and other online business operators. Ginee’s ERP is used by more than 70,000 Southeast Asian entrepreneurs. 

The new platform is also partnered with the biggest names like Shopee, Lazada, and Shopify, making it much easier for entrepreneurs to manage all of their businesses in just one go.

The ERP software has recently been made available in the Philippines. Ginee Omnichannel Philippines is determined to improve business efficiency and cost efficiency with its unique features that allows you to manage your products, inventory, and even customers all in one place.

Ginee will help you maximize the potential of your business and set it on the path to success.

Conclusion

Your e-commerce business is only as robust as the security systems you put in place to protect it from being hijacked by malicious hackers. Taking steps to protect yourself from the threats outlined above will go a long way to protect your threats e-commerce business.

The current climate of the COVID-19 Pandemic makes running an internet business challenging, and to be quite honest, it can be downright terrifying. Fortunately, this is not the case in the event of Ginee Philippines being a part of your squad’s roster. 

Company success is now more achievable than ever before because of Ginee’s industry-leading company optimization solutions and services, which are providing a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

If you want to materialize your most successful entrepreneur self to date, it’s critical that you engage with Ginee in the following phase. By completing a simple form on our website, you will get the option to test it out for free for a period of seven days without any strings attached.