News

Online security linked to consumer, company behavior

Spending by U.S. consumers was up in February, mostly supported by an improved job market and predictions of economic growth, reported the Associated Press. Between January and February, consumer spending rose 0.7 percent, the biggest increase in five months. Analysts predict that spending will continue to grow, with the U.S. economist at Capital Economics forecasting 3 percent annual growth in the first quarter of 2013. 

With this increase in consumer confidence, and the trend of more shoppers moving online, many businesses that engage in eCommerce stand to gain. However, it is important that both businesses and consumers understand how to make the online experience secure. Companies cannot afford to lose time, money and credibility if a security breach occurs, and consumers will want to avoid becoming the victims of identity theft and credit card fraud by only using secure sites. 

One way that companies are protecting customers and shoppers online is through SSL, where a high level of authenticity, integrity and confidentiality are used to improve website security. SC Magazine's Alex Raistrick explained that because of these security benefits, SSL is being used more often by enterprises to protect information that is entered into web applications, and is also becoming more common on other sites.

"The use of SSL is only expected to increase as popular social media applications, such as Twitter and Facebook, have adopted SSL as a default protection for all traffic via HTTP to improve privacy for their user communications," reported Raistrick.

Safe online shopping
In addition to companies using SSL to protect customers, there are many ways that consumers can help improve their own security. It is important for them to protect computers, smartphones and other devices while browsing the internet or shopping online. BizCommunity outlined several security issues that consumers should consider:

  • Firewalls should always be used to prevent malicious code from harming a device. Viruses can expose stored personal information as well as browsing history to cybercriminals.
  • Antivirus protection can scan computers to identify or block threats. 
  • Verify security certificates of websites to make sure they're legitimate. With the growing prevalence and complexity of cybercrime, it's important to research the credibility of websites, especially if the user plans to enter confidential information or make a purchase on the site.
  • Use strong passwords to protect devices and to log into websites. Passwords should never include obvious information like a name, birth date or other data that is easy to find. They should be a blend of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and symbols. 

If companies and consumers work together to improve website security, then everyone can benefit. Learn more about how Thawte can help protect sensitive data.

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