Tips for point-of-sale security
The face of doing business has changed dramatically in little more than a decade. Where online shops used to be dusty storeroom that customers didn't wander into, it's now a bustling marketplace. It has been a fantastic development for small businesses wanting to sell their wares and services to a wider audience, too.
The costs involved in operating a storefront aren't nearly as high, and you can run your physical enterprise alongside the online venture - in many cases, all you need is a computer and a vision. Australians have taken to the digital marketplace like never before. According NAB's Online Retail Sales Index, spending in internet stores soared to $16.9 billion over the year to April 2015 - that's a staggering rise of 9.6 per cent.1
But hackers have jumped on the opportunity to attack digital point-of-sale (PoS) systems. Just think about all the important information you might have in this software! Even the smallest boutique could have details about inventory, accounting, credit card data and sales tracking. So how can you protect yourself and your business? Here are some helpful security tips.
Change passwords regularly
Digital PoS systems are evolving everyday. You can create colourful shopping experiences for your customers with just the click of a button, but the software can quickly become a target for hackers without the right security measures in place. Passwords are essential for just about every activity on the internet - and point of sale systems are no exception! To protect against criminal activity, make sure you create unique usernames and switch up your password regularly. Hackers are always on the look out for weaknesses, so build up a strong defence to ward them off.
Encryption is key
As e-commerce sites and physical shop-fronts begin walking hand in hand, there is an increasing quantity of systems on the market that offer online PoS services. These track sales and inventory in the cloud - meaning you can even take orders and manage your business from a mobile device! The data is transmitted from the point of sale, be it in your shop or online, and tracks it back to a third party processor.
But how can you know which one is best for your small enterprise? It's worth sticking to companies that offer strong credit card encryption and secure back-ups for all of your most important data. If you're unsure, keep an eye out for for SSL encryption. This scrambles important data traffic as it flows through the internet, making it undecipherable to prying eyes.
The internet opens a whole new set of doors for doing business - but you've got to be careful who you let through. For peace of mind, the team at Identity Watch can help protect your business' reputation, employees and customers from malicious activity. Our security experts scour online criminal forums where stolen data is bought and traded, and will alert you if your confidential information makes an appearance.
1 Online Retail Sales Index: In-depth report – April 2015. NAB. June 2015.