E-Commerce Application’s Vulnerabilities that Lead to Cyberattacks

In the modern digital age, E-commerce has become an integral part of our lives, serving as a key for our daily shopping needs. As the e-commerce landscape expands, so does the susceptibility to business logic discrepancies. Expanding e-commerce platforms bring discrepancies that disrupt user experiences and jeopardize website security, warranting attention. Malicious actors exploit vulnerabilities to access sensitive data, like customer details, or manipulate site operations for their gain.

Business logic flaws refer to vulnerabilities within the software governing critical functions like order processing, payment handling, and product shipping on e-commerce websites.

In this blog, we will discuss common e-commerce application vulnerabilities, business logic flaws, and server misconfiguration. We will also know how can we solve them.

Vulnerabilities in E-Commerce Applications

Business Logic Flaws

Business logic flaws arise due to errors or vulnerabilities in the design and functioning of an e-commerce website’s user input handling, differing from technical issues rooted in the code. Website flaws enable breaches: bypassing security, unauthorized data access, and fraudulent transactions become possible, underlining risks to address.

Consider a scenario in which a user receives an unintended and significant discount due to the application of a discount code multiple times. Imagine an attacker manipulating time-sensitive actions like canceling a shipped order, resulting in financial loss and customer confusion. Minor discrepancies can trigger significant security breaches, imperiling user experience and the E-commerce platform’s integrity.

Impact of Business Logic Flaws

Business logic can have detrimental effects on an organization. The following are some probable effects of these vulnerabilities.

Monetary Loss

One of the outcomes of business logic flaws is the experience of financial detriment. These flaws impact essential operations like billing or payment processing, which may lead to substantial revenue depletion for the organization. Furthermore, rectifying these errors could entail substantial expenses.

Reputational Harm

This situation can give rise to customer discontent, subsequently causing detrimental effects on the company’s standing. Adverse feedback and informal communication can discourage prospective customers from engaging with the company down the line.

Operational Challenges

Business errors have the potential to result in operational challenges like inaccuracies, and inefficacies. These circumstances can harm productivity and the company’s capacity to ensure timely delivery of products or services.

Data Integrity

 Exact or contradictory data could culminate in subpar decision-making, and it has the potential to jeopardize the security and confidentiality of confidential information.

Server Misconfiguration

To cater to the demands of their customers, e-commerce enterprises necessitate diverse forms of web applications. Web applications simplify tasks: create catalogs, share info, establish profiles, manage carts, and enable secure payments – enhancing E-commerce efficiency.

However, many online merchants neglect robust security in software development, often overlooking proper web app configuration, and posing vulnerabilities. Consequently, this oversight gives rise to an array of security vulnerabilities within e-commerce web applications, culminating in compromised user accounts, the infusion of malevolent code, revenue losses, eroded customer trust, impaired brand reputation, and more.

Inaccurate compilation of security configurations within a web application opens a pathway for hackers to infiltrate and illicitly acquire data over an extended duration. The consequences stemming from these security misconfigurations are financially burdensome. In the contemporary landscape, applications are intricate, comprising numerous layers.

Injection Attacks

Injection attacks are among the most prevalent and damaging vulnerabilities in E-commerce applications. These attacks involve injecting malicious code or commands into an application’s input fields, exploiting inadequate input validation or sanitization processes. SQL injection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) are not unusual injection attacks that may result in facts breaches, identification theft, and location defacement.

In the context of E-commerce, unauthorized access to the backend database can be gained through an SQL injection attack that manipulates a search bar, leading to exposure of confidential data. Similarly, a successful XSS attack could insert malicious scripts into the website, redirecting users to fraudulent pages or stealing their credentials. Similar to this, an effective XSS attack might add malicious scripts to the website, rerouting users to sites or collecting their login information. These attacks not only compromise user trust but also tarnish the reputation of the E-commerce brand.

How to Protect E-Commerce Applications from Vulnerabilities?

The absolute success of an e-commerce enterprise is related to the performance of its web application. Consequently, ensuring the application’s optimal functionality is paramount, requiring thorough efforts to safeguard it from potential attacks. Comparably, an e-commerce application represents a treasure trove for hackers, containing valuable information and data. The optimal approach is to build an application as a strong barrier against hackers while offering users a seamless, appealing experience.

Penetration Testing

Penetration testing can be executed either manually or automatically to assess the susceptibility of your e-commerce application to potential breaches by hackers. In a penetration test, vulnerabilities are methodically found and exploited to gauge their extent, and the findings are documented. The assessment offers insights into app vulnerabilities, guiding strategic planning and corrective actions to address and rectify vulnerabilities.

Web Application Firewall

Firewall alone cannot provide comprehensive security for your e-commerce web application, its pivotal role within your infrastructure’s security framework cannot be underestimated. Multiple factors contribute to determining the suitability of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) for your e-commerce venture. The WAF’s management of SSL is crucial due to extensive data encryption in transactions.

Web Server Configuration

The configuration of the internet server is a crucial element of e-commerce security. There are two options for installing on the server: hosting it on its premises or in the cloud. When it comes to storing sensitive data, choosing an on-premises server with robust encryption is often deemed more reliable than depending on a website hosting service provider. The latter choice involves external entities, raising server setup and maintenance concerns, unlike the more controlled on-premises option.

Conclusion

Instances of cyberattacks targeting e-commerce websites are a common occurrence, with even renowned enterprises like Honda experiencing significant vulnerabilities that came to light within the past year. Essential security assessments evaluate attack points in e-commerce apps, safeguarding enterprises and users from threats like phishing and e-skimming. Embracing penetration testing as a service stands out as a prime strategy for fortifying platforms, facilitating consistent scans that offer ongoing vulnerability evaluations, and allowing for swift mitigation measures.

Kratikal is a CERT-In empanelled organization, that offers optimal solutions and techniques to effectively mitigate security breaches. Cybersecurity success relies on types of threats, risk acceptance, and financial investment, shaping strategies’ effectiveness in safeguarding digital assets.

About The Author