The current commercial environment has made the e-commerce industry an integral part of the global economy. This means that platforms that develop e-commerce must maintain extensive security for many important reasons. However, one of the leading e-commerce platforms of choice, known as WooCommerce, faces problems with cybersecurity issues. In total, there are more than 5 million websites that have the WooCommerce Plugin installed.
What is WooCommerce?;
WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin. It has been mentioned in previous articles that WooCommerce powers more than 40% of online businesses. It is accessible from the plugins directory and thus acquires the knowledge of all the essentials for creating an online business, selling physical or digital goods.
Additionally, the plugin can also help run websites or can be used to handle purchases for printables and various other customized products. Whether the business is about selling a few products or a retail startup to grow a business, WooCommerce can be used to add all the important e-commerce features to a WordPress website.
Woocommerce, a WordPress plugin for e-commerce.
Setting up and running a WooCommerce store with a basic shared hosting plan is easy. This hosting will power a business with features and support and help build a brand. WooCommerce plugins come with payment and shopping cart features and also support an extensive range of options. Using these options, one can set up exclusive events, products, and landing pages.
Recently, there was a comparison of this WooCommerce platform with a leading e-commerce store builder, “Magento vs WooCommerce. Which is better for an online business?;“".
What damage can an “intruder” cause to WooCommerce?;
Hackers use some of the most creative and illegal methods when it comes to hacking WordPress and WooCommerce websites. While there are no obvious signs to tell if a website has been hacked or not, spotting some of the common signs that WordPress has been hacked will help.
- Unauthorized website redirection to another URL, also known as a WordPress malware redirect hack.
- Inappropriate content on the website's home page.
- Limited access to the admin control panel.
- An unusual drop in traffic, which may be due to Google's blacklist warning message or the site displaying the message "This site may be hacked" in search results.
- Browser errors.
- Unexpected increase in website registration.
Security of the online store platform, the most important thing for safeguarding personal data.
Many failed connection attempts.
It is of utmost importance to have 2-factor authentication enabled and choose strong passwords to keep those who want to harm your online store (hackers) at bay. But, if you allow a hacker to enter passwords thousands of times, they may eventually catch up. In fact, they use botnets to try different password combinations.
Unfortunately, WooCommerce does not have a security protocol to limit these login attempts.. Its admin panel is open to any person who wants to log in. However, there is no identification system that prohibits login attempts from those IP addresses that have been involved in cyberattacks earlier.
To fix this, a plugin is needed to block these unknown IP addresses that repeatedly enter incorrect passwords. And that’s where WP plugins like Wordfence come in. Once installed, they can identify unknown IP addresses with multiple failed login attempts. It blocks these IP addresses from attempting to log in. So, the only way for someone to log in is to request admin approval, adding a lot of protection to your WooCommerce store.
Absence of data encryption.
Unfortunately, WooCommerce does not have a built-in data protection system. That’s why it’s best to have a third-party tool to protect your website from hackers. While this point is not directly related to WooCommerce vulnerabilities, it directly affects the security of an online store. If attackers manage to see what is being transferred between the store and customers, they can steal sensitive data such as email addresses, banking details, credit/debit card details, usernames, etc.
Importance of data encryption.
Whether it is an e-commerce website or a simple website, SSL is mandatory for everyone. Google considers SSL as a decisive factor when ranking sites in its SERP (Search Engine Results Pages). SSL plays an important role in e-commerce websites, allowing them to accept payments online. According to the Payment Card Industry guidelines, every e-commerce website must have SSL for online transactions. SSL certificates that are generally considered reliable for WooCommerce are the economical, rapidSSL or Comodo SSL certificates and come from the house of trusted CAs.
Add-on and plugin conflicts.
There is a tendency to install too many plugins to make your website or online store look better. But this causes several problems in their functionality. Different plugins are designed to configure the backend, in their own way. When multiple of the same type are installed on a website, they all try to gain access, resulting in its functionality not evolving. The situation is even worse when these plugins are installed for security reasons. Too many plugins managing the security of a single WooCommerce website can cause many security vulnerabilities.
However, there are platforms like Magento, in which the existence of extensions plays an essential role, “How important are Magento Modules?;“
You should stop installing many plugins immediately. They can in no way help your WooCommerce website become secure. The Plugin is there to facilitate certain processes, such as filling out contact forms, newsletter signup popups, and detecting potential threats.
So too many of the same type of plugins will prevent each other from working. Furthermore, not all security protocols are as secure as an SSL certificate. When a security plugin is installed, it gives access to the backend of the entire website. So, if these plugins are compromised, the website will be at huge risk of data breach. That is why it is better not to prefer too many plugins for security. If you must, it is ideal to trust only those that have the best reviews and rankings on Google.
Checking plugin conflicts in WooCommerce.
No automatic platform updates.
Millions of websites rely on WordPress for their daily operations, but a security breach can significantly disrupt all those businesses that rely on it.
Unfortunately, the WooCommerce or WordPress do not have automatic updates available. This means that users need to regularly check for updates to ensure their software foundation is strong.
There is no magic or automated way to fix this problem, other than another plugin. While it is a good practice to check for updates regularly, it is recommended to use a WP plugin like Companion Auto Update if you don’t have the option to check regularly. Companion Auto Update will send an email notification whenever an update is available. This eliminates the need to constantly check for new updates.
Epilogue.
There is a huge list of security vulnerabilities related to WordPress and by extension WooCommerce. However, they may be more specific to each situation as well as the way they are resolved. So, if WooCommerce is chosen as the platform for your e-commerce store, the security factor should be taken into account, the most important for securing customer data and guaranteeing service provision.
