If you rely on credit card processing services at your business, you understand the importance of security throughout your entire system. From your physical security measures to your PCI compliance, customers want a convenient experience coupled with the knowledge that your business is secure. This is particularly important for businesses that operate in the eCommerce space.
Saving time this one of the main reasons your customers love online shopping and mobile apps today. Since time is the most valuable asset for many consumers, something as convenient as autofill field profiles on a computer browser can be considered a time-saver. With relentless hackers on the rise, this convenience can possibly harm and cost you or your customers more than just a few keystrokes.
Hidden fields on sites are now an easy way for a hacker to use autofill for access to a consumer’s personal information like addresses, phone numbers and, even worse, credit card information. This fairly new feature on web browsers including Chrome, Safari and Opera has its flaws revealed.
According to Catalin Cimpanu of Bleeping Computer, this slip up was exposed by web developer, Viljami Kuosmanen. The self-proclaimed hacker created a basic website that asks visitors to simply fill out their name and email address while the hidden fields are used to steal supposedly secure data like phone numbers, home addresses, and postal codes. Although some browsers may notify you of a security breach while using certain credit card processing services online, it is best to take the time to type out sensitive information due to these hidden fields that are being used to harvest personal data. In light of these risks, businesses might consider implementing keystroke capture software to monitor and protect sensitive input data from being misused.
All hope is not lost, however; the autofill feature can be disabled within your browser settings. It will take a little more time to manually type the information needed when using eCommerce sites to shop. Paying a bill or even a parking ticket online can also be a task that can be made more tedious when you think a site is being useful and private information ends up stolen for fraud purposes.
Hackers not only have the power to steal identity from consumers with autofill fields, but they also harm the reputations of online businesses and any other business that relies on credit card processing services. It’s vital to take the extra time out with vulnerable data because stolen information will cost more than the extra 30 seconds it took to type it in manually.
Looking for credit card processing services that will keep you secure at your business? Payline offers a wide range of products and services to keep your business secure and your reputation spotless.
This piece was written by Charne Graham, content specialist for Payline.
