Retail & E-commerce Cyber Security

Retail and eCommerce security testing typically costs between £3,750 and £15,000+ depending on platform complexity and testing scope. Standard web application penetration testing for e-commerce platforms (checkout, payment processing, customer accounts) averages £6,250 to £8,750 for 5 to 7 days of testing. PCI DSS compliance assessments including penetration testing range £6,000 to £12,000 annually depending on merchant level and environment complexity. Comprehensive testing including web applications, mobile apps, API security, and PCI segmentation validation typically costs £10,000 to £15,000+. Quarterly PCI ASV vulnerability scanning is included in compliance packages. We provide fixed-price quotes after understanding your platform architecture and PCI scope.

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) applies to any organisation that stores, processes, or transmits credit card data. This includes e-commerce platforms, in-store retailers with card terminals, and businesses using third-party payment processors. Compliance level depends on transaction volume: Level 1 merchants (6M+ Visa/Mastercard transactions annually) require full ROC assessment by a QSA, while smaller merchants can self-assess using SAQ questionnaires. Non-compliance risks include fines (£5,000 to £25,000 per month), loss of card processing privileges, and liability for fraud losses.

Yes, but your compliance burden is significantly reduced. When using payment processors with hosted checkout pages or tokenization (where card data never touches your servers), you typically qualify for PCI SAQ-A (shortest questionnaire, approximately 20 questions vs. 300+ for full SAQ-D). However, you still need: (1) Quarterly ASV vulnerability scans of your e-commerce platform, (2) Annual penetration testing of your web application, (3) Client-side script monitoring for Magecart attacks (PCI DSS v4.0 requirement), and (4) Documentation of your PCI compliance controls. Using Stripe doesn't eliminate PCI obligations, it reduces them.

Magecart is a type of web-based skimming attack where malicious JavaScript is injected into e-commerce checkout pages to steal payment card details in real-time as customers enter them. Unlike server-side breaches, Magecart operates entirely in the browser, bypassing server-side security controls. Attackers compromise third-party scripts (analytics, chat widgets, A/B testing), inject malicious code into payment pages, or exploit XSS vulnerabilities. PCI DSS v4.0 now requires monitoring and management of all payment page scripts (Requirement 11.6.1) to detect and prevent Magecart attacks. Notable victims include British Airways (£183M ICO fine), Ticketmaster, and Newegg.

Professional e-commerce security testing is designed to be safe and non-disruptive to live sales. We use several approaches: (1) Testing with dedicated test accounts and dummy payment cards (not real customer transactions), (2) Coordinated testing windows during low-traffic periods (typically weekdays 9am to 5pm, avoiding peak sales periods), (3) Read-only testing for checkout flows (testing payment validation without completing transactions), (4) Staging environment testing where available (for high-risk destructive tests), and (5) Immediate abort procedures if any service degradation is detected. We coordinate closely with your development and operations teams to ensure zero impact on customer experience while validating security under realistic conditions.

We simulate credential stuffing attacks using test accounts and breach database patterns (not real customer credentials) to validate your defenses against automated account takeover. Testing includes: distributed botnet simulation with IP rotation, CAPTCHA bypass attempts, rate limiting validation, device fingerprinting evasion, and behavioral analytics testing. Retail platforms are prime targets because compromised accounts contain saved payment cards, loyalty points, and order history. We validate that your platform detects and blocks automated login attempts while maintaining legitimate customer access.

PCI DSS requires internal and external penetration testing at least annually and after any significant changes to infrastructure, applications, or network architecture (e.g., new payment gateway integration, platform migration, major feature release). Quarterly ASV vulnerability scans are also mandatory for external-facing systems in the cardholder data environment. Best practice: annual comprehensive testing (web app, internal network, external perimeter) plus targeted testing after major changes.

Yes. We perform comprehensive security assessments of iOS and Android retail applications including: payment processing security (tokenization, card data handling), stored credential security (keychain/keystore implementation), API communication security (certificate pinning, token management), authentication bypass testing, jailbreak/root detection bypass, and client-side logic tampering. Mobile app testing typically costs £5,000 to £8,750 depending on app complexity and platform coverage (iOS only, Android only, or both).

PCI segmentation testing validates that the cardholder data environment (CDE) is properly isolated from other network zones, preventing attackers who compromise corporate IT from reaching payment systems. Testing simulates attacks from untrusted zones attempting to reach CDE systems through network pivoting, VLAN hopping, and firewall rule exploitation. Segmentation testing is required every six months for service providers and annually for merchants, and helps reduce PCI DSS scope and compliance burden by limiting the systems subject to full PCI controls.