Ecomerce Threats

You don’t have to be a cybersecurity expert to run a secure online store — but you do need to ask the right questions.

Whether you’ve hired a freelancer, work with an agency, or have an in-house team, your developer plays a key role in how secure (or vulnerable) your store is.

Here are five practical, non-technical questions you can ask today to help protect your business and your customers.

1. “How Do We Monitor for Website Threats?”

Why it matters: Most breaches aren’t loud or obvious. They happen silently, on the front end, and can go undetected for weeks.

Ask your developer:

• Are we using any tools that monitor for script changes or malware injections?
• Do we get alerted if something unusual happens?

If the answer is “we don’t monitor at all,” that’s a red flag. Even free tools like Wordfence (for WordPress) can offer basic monitoring that can save your store.

 2. “When Was the Last Plugin and Theme Audit?”

Why it matters: Outdated or abandoned plugins are one of the most common ways hackers get in.

Ask your developer:

• When did we last check for unused or outdated plugins?
• Are there any plugins/themes installed that we’re not actively using?

Outdated ≠ broken — but it does = risky. If a plugin hasn’t been updated in over 6–12 months, it’s worth reviewing.

3. “Are We Using a Content Security Policy (CSP)?”

Why it matters: A CSP is like a firewall for your website’s browser — it controls which scripts are allowed to run and helps prevent formjacking, Magecart, and other client-side attacks.

Ask your developer:

• Do we have a CSP in place?
• If not, can we start with a basic one that covers our most sensitive pages (like checkout and login)?

Even a basic CSP can block unexpected or malicious scripts.

4. “Do We Have Secure, Off-Site Backups — and Have You Tested Them?”

Why it matters: If your site gets compromised, a clean, recent backup is often the fastest way to recover.

Ask your developer:

• How often are backups taken?
• Where are they stored?
• Have we tested restoring from them?

If the backup is on the same server or hasn’t been tested, you may not be as protected as you think.

5. “How Do We Keep Up with New Vulnerabilities?”

Why it matters: New plugin, theme, and platform vulnerabilities are published every week — staying ahead of them is half the battle.

Ask your developer:

• Are we subscribed to any vulnerability feeds (like Patchstack)?
• Do we review changelogs before updating plugins?
• Do we use any automated tools to check plugin risk?

Even if you don’t understand the technical side, asking this shows you care — and keeps security on the radar.