Case Study: How We Secured an E-commerce Site from Hackers

The Challenge

Client: Regional Home Goods E-commerce Store
Revenue: $2M annually
Traffic: 50,000 monthly visitors
Problem: Site hacked twice in 6 months, losing $12,000 in downtime and recovery

Initial Security Assessment

When the client came to us, their site had:
❌ Outdated WordPress core (vulnerable version)
❌ 12 outdated plugins with known vulnerabilities
❌ Weak admin passwords
❌ No firewall
❌ No malware scanning
❌ Shared hosting environment
❌ No backup system
❌ Mixed HTTP/HTTPS content

Security grade: F

Our Approach

Phase 1: Immediate Threat Mitigation (Week 1)

Actions taken:
1. Full malware scan and removal
2. Implemented Web Application Firewall (Cloudflare)
3. Force-enabled 2FA for all admin accounts
4. Changed all passwords to 16+ character passphrases
5. Installed real-time security monitoring
6. Set up automated daily backups

Results: Blocked 2,347 malicious requests in first 24 hours.

Phase 2: Platform Hardening (Weeks 2-3)

Infrastructure improvements:

Migrated to isolated VPS hosting environment

Updated all software to latest secure versions

Removed 7 unnecessary plugins

Implemented rate limiting on login/checkout pages

Added CAPTCHA to prevent bot attacks

Configured server-level security headers

Database security:

Changed database prefix from default `wp_`

Created read-only database user for front-end queries

Enabled database encryption at rest

Implemented prepared statements to prevent SQL injection

Phase 3: Application-Level Security (Weeks 4-6)

Payment security (PCI compliance):

Migrated to Stripe for PCI-compliant payment processing

Removed all card data from local storage

Implemented tokenization for recurring payments

Added fraud detection rules

Set up automated PCI scans

Customer data protection:

Encrypted sensitive customer data (addresses, phone numbers)

Implemented secure password hashing (bcrypt)

Added privacy controls for GDPR compliance

Created data retention policies

Enabled automatic session timeout

File upload security:

Restricted file uploads to specific directories

Implemented file type validation

Added malware scanning for uploaded files

Renamed uploaded files to prevent execution

Phase 4: Monitoring & Response (Ongoing)

Security monitoring setup:

24/7 intrusion detection system

Real-time email alerts for suspicious activity

Weekly vulnerability scans

Monthly penetration testing

Quarterly security audits

Incident response plan:

Documented procedures for different attack scenarios

Emergency contact list

Backup restoration playbook

Communication templates for customers

The Results

Security Improvements

Before vs. After:

Security grade: F → A+

Vulnerability count: 23 → 0

Malware infections: 2 in 6 months → 0 in 12 months

Attack attempts blocked: 0 → 15,000+/month (99.9% blocked)

Business Impact

Direct savings:

$0 in breach-related costs (vs. $12K previous 6 months)

$0 in downtime (vs. 72 hours previous 6 months)

$3,500 saved in recovery costs

$25,000+ prevented breach exposure

Revenue improvements:

23% increase in completed checkouts (customers trust secure sites)

15% reduction in cart abandonment

Removed Google "Not Secure" warning (increased traffic 18%)

No longer blacklisted by antivirus software

Customer confidence:

94% of customers feel "very secure" (vs. 61% before)

40% increase in repeat customers

5-star security rating on review platforms

Lessons Learned

1. Prevention is 10x cheaper than recovery
Investment: $2,499 security overhaul
Savings: $12,000+ in prevented breach costs
ROI: 480%

2. Outdated software = open door for hackers
Every outdated plugin is a vulnerability waiting to be exploited.

3. E-commerce sites are prime targets
Payment data makes you valuable to cybercriminals.

4. Backups alone aren't security
You need prevention, not just recovery.

5. Security improves conversion rates
Customers buy more when they feel safe.

Technical Implementation Details

Firewall Rules Implemented

```

Block common attack patterns

SQL injection attempts: BLOCKED

XSS attempts: BLOCKED

Directory traversal: BLOCKED

Brute force login: RATE LIMITED

Known malicious IPs: BLOCKED
```

Security Headers Added

```
Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' stripe.com
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
```

Automated Security Checks

Daily:

Malware scan

Backup verification

SSL certificate check

Weekly:

Plugin/theme update check

Security log review

Uptime monitoring

Monthly:

Full vulnerability scan

User access audit

Password expiration enforcement

Client Testimonial

> "Before Security Wiz, we were getting hacked every few months. It was costing us thousands in lost sales and recovery. Now we sleep easy knowing our site and customer data are protected. The best investment we've made for our business."
> — Jennifer M., Owner

Your E-commerce Security Checklist

Based on this case study, here's what every e-commerce site needs:

✅ Web Application Firewall
✅ SSL certificate (HTTPS everywhere)
✅ PCI-compliant payment processing
✅ Regular security updates
✅ Strong access controls (2FA)
✅ Automated backups
✅ Malware scanning
✅ DDoS protection
✅ Security monitoring
✅ Incident response plan

Get Protected Today

Don't wait until after a breach to take security seriously. Our e-commerce security packages include everything from this case study and more.

Secure E-commerce Package: $2,499

Full security audit

Malware removal

WAF implementation

PCI compliance setup

Ongoing monitoring (90 days)

[Schedule your free security consultation](#contact)

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