Merchants must reexamine online security credentials

With the holiday shopping season now in full swing, retailers must ensure their online security fundamentals are strong enough to protect customer data and avoid potentially costly incidents.

Much of the attention paid to online security this holiday season is framed from the customer perspective. With identity thieves and cybercriminals running rampant across the internet, the advice is well timed. But hackers are focusing their attacks on the other side of the equation and compromising the websites of unprepared merchants as well.

According to All Business, establishing online security credibility will be key to the success or failure of web retailers in the coming weeks. Consumer advocates have cautioned against frequenting sites that may be dangerous, providing shoppers with several key indicators to look for.

To ensure online security shortcomings are not pushing away customers - or worse yet leaving companies open to noncompliance sanctions - merchants are advised to focus on several key areas. According to All Business, Payment Card Industry software, credit card verification, address verification and secure socket layers are all hallmarks of a secure commercial website. Once these competencies are established, it is also important to announce or display these credentials to put shoppers at ease.