Security web scans and analysis performed on 7,800 Asian Magento websites – the most popular e-commerce platform globally – reveal 78% are at high risk from cyber criminals, according to leading global cybersecurity experts.
The latest survey carried out by Foregenix in October identifies the most significant vulnerability for Asian SMEs’ for hackers looking exploit the absence of critical security patches.
Global cybersecurity experts Foregenix found 90% of websites using Magento 1 were at risk, however, the figures fell sharply to around 40% for Magento 2 websites.
The global analysis – which analysed over 170,000 websites in total – also reveals that 1.5% of these sites (2,548) are infected with malware. Out of these infected sites, 1,591 were compromised by credit / debit card stealing malware which is actively harvesting their customers’ data for subsequent sale and / or fraud.
“Graph of risk status across the globe, Click to enlarge”
A further 2.3% of all websites are vulnerable to Magento Shoplift, a vulnerability which was disclosed and patches made available in January 2015. This allows hackers to completely administer the website remotely, steal sensitive data and even order items for free through a single exploit command, which is publicly available.
The cybersecurity company, which is renowned globally for its work on payment security, has an active threat intelligence team researching and analysing attack trends, with a strong focus on the e-commerce sector.
“Foregenix CEO Andrew Henwood announcing his research at the PCI SSC European Community Meeting in London”
The research, unveiled for the first time at Payment Card Industry Security Standards CouncilEuropean Community Meeting in London, Foregenix’s CEO Andrew Henwood said: ‘While the figures for Asia are of great concern, they are roughly in line with our findings for many other regions such as Europe and North America.
‘The issues highlighted are a truly global problem, which threatens to undermine confidence in e-commerce, especially in markets leading the way in online sales such as the UK. Repercussions as a result of compromises are heavy penalties by card providers and these put many smaller traders at risk.
‘Magento and other e-commerce platforms release regular software updates in response to vulnerabilities. These security patches, if not used, can leave websites highly vulnerable to hacking and loss of sensitive data.
‘Online businesses often assume web developers, agencies and hosting providers take care of security. Design agencies are great at producing beautiful, transactional websites that sell their wares, but their expertise on security issues generally isn’t as well developed. Agencies and their clients need to be aware of e-commerce security issues, as even a single breach can be devastating for a small business.
‘Simple precautions can make a real difference to reducing a company’s risk from criminals such as regularly patching, changing default settings on the administration interface and using stronger passwords with multi-factor authentication. Risk can never be entirely eliminated, so companies should also consider investing in a partnership with a cybersecurity specialist organisation and cyber insurance policy.‘
Any business that wants to know whether its website is secure can scan externally for free, using similar technology that detected the issues above at http://webscan.foregenix.com.
About Foregenix
Foregenix is a leading independent cybersecurity company with a focus on keeping the world’s payment systems secure. With a decade of experience in the Payment Card Industry (PCI), it helps merchants, payment processors, banks and other operators to ensure they are securing their environments effectively while complying with industry security standards.
Foregenix works with clients in the Fintech, retail, e-commerce, hospitality, travel and insurance sectors, as well as banks and governments globally. Its specialists are drawn from backgrounds including law enforcement, counterterrorism and digital security.
Foregenix has offices in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Germany, South Africa and Uruguay, and its consultancy teams operate in more than 15 countries. www.foregenix.com
