As a small business owner, you want to protect your company as much as possible. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are also out there and they are always trying to find new ways to hack into your systems and steal the credit card information not only of your business but of your clients. Luckily, there are steps you can take to increase security in your business credit card transactions.
Create a Faster Transaction Experience
The slower your system is, the more time cyber criminals will have to find their way into it. This means that the first thing you should do to protect your credit card transactions is to install an AI chip that will speed up your transaction process. AI chips provide your system with fabric bandwidth that creates a more powerful performance while lowering the communication overhead. Faster transactions mean less time spent accessing information, which means less time with “open doors” that criminals can find their way through.
Follow the Payment Card Industry’s Security Standards
The Security Standards Council set forth a list of controls in the PCI Data Security Standard. These standards state that you should monitor and enforce the use of controls continuously in addition to using security measures when accepting, transmitting, and storing credit card information. Simply put, you should always have up-to-date antivirus software and strong passwords, making it that much harder for cyberattacks to find or create backdoors into your information.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
Whether you’re logging into your own business accounts or you let your customers log into their accounts on your website, it is essential that you provide and use two-factor authentication at a minimum. Two-factor authentication lets a person enter their username and password and then provides a secure code via text message, phone call, or email that ensures only the account holder is gaining access. It also alerts you if you are logged in on any other devices, which makes it easy to detect if an unauthorized person is accessing your account.
Purchase and Use a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate
If you’ve ever noticed the “s” at the end of “https” in a website’s URL, it indicates that it is a secure website that uses a secure sockets layer certificate. In most browsers, there will also be a small lock as an indicator (for example, it’s to the left of the URL on Google Chrome). SSL certificates protect your business and your customer’s information in a number of ways. It allows users to verify that your website is secure, ensures everything is legit, and then encrypts data that transmits between two computers. It also authenticates the data once it is decrypted. You can get a free SSL certificate in some cases but experts recommend shelling out the extra cash to get the strongest level of security.
Avoid Relying on Technology For Everything
While there are plenty of ways to protect your information and your customers’ information online, it’s also important to know the signs that someone is trying to commit credit card fraud when making an in-person purchase. If you are processing a credit card payment, watch for people who seem nervous or rushed. Always look at the signature on the back of a credit card and ask to see identification before processing the payment. If the name on the card doesn’t match the ID, or if the face on the ID doesn’t match the person you’re talking to, decline to complete the transaction.
Final Thoughts
While you have an arsenal to protect you, it’s important to note that cybercriminals are always coming up with new ways to gain access to your information. For this reason, it is important to round out your arsenal with a robust insurance policy that protects you in the event of a security breach. This way, you can rest easy in knowing that your company and your customers are protected.
