Black Friday Ecommerce Security: 7 things to check before peak season

Black Friday and Cyber Monday bring a significant increase in online shopping activity. For ecommerce businesses, this means more visitors, more transactions, more integrations working simultaneously, and greater pressure on the underlying technology infrastructure.

However, higher traffic also creates additional security challenges. Cybercriminals can take advantage of increased activity to launch DDoS attacks, exploit application vulnerabilities, compromise customer accounts, and target payment processes. Meanwhile, IT teams are often focused on keeping websites responsive and ensuring that checkout flows work without interruptions.

This combination makes peak shopping season a critical period for Black Friday ecommerce security.

Security incidents during major sales events can have consequences beyond IT operations. A compromised checkout page can expose payment information. Account takeovers can lead to fraudulent purchases. Even a relatively short service disruption can result in lost revenue and damage to customer trust.

Preparing for peak season should therefore involve more than load testing and infrastructure scaling. Ecommerce businesses need to review their security controls, identify weak points, and make sure their teams can respond quickly if something goes wrong.

Here are seven areas worth checking before your next major sales event.

1. Review Your Ecommerce Platform for Vulnerabilities

An ecommerce website depends on multiple technology components: its core platform, content management system (CMS), frameworks, plugins, third-party libraries, and custom-developed functionality. Each component can introduce security risks if it is outdated, misconfigured, or no longer maintained.

Before peak season, review the entire application stack rather than focusing exclusively on the main ecommerce platform.

Start with the following checks:

• Software updates: Make sure your CMS, ecommerce platform, frameworks, plugins, and libraries are running supported versions.
• Known vulnerabilities: Check whether any installed components have publicly disclosed security vulnerabilities.
• Security patches: Confirm that critical updates have been applied and that no essential patches are pending.
• Authentication and sessions: Review password policies, session expiration, and protection against unauthorized access.
• Administrative interfaces: Restrict access to admin panels and internal tools, and ensure that additional authentication controls are enabled.

A seemingly minor vulnerability in a third-party plugin can become an entry point into the wider application. For example, an outdated extension used for product reviews or promotional banners could expose customer information or allow unauthorized changes to website content.

Regular vulnerability scanning helps identify known weaknesses, while penetration testing provides a deeper assessment of how different vulnerabilities could be exploited in practice. Both approaches can help teams prioritize remediation based on the potential impact on business operations.

The OWASP Top 10 is a useful reference for understanding common web application security risks.

2. Protect Customer Accounts and Personal Data

Customer accounts contain information that attackers can use for fraud, identity abuse, or unauthorized purchases. During Black Friday, when shoppers are creating accounts, logging in, and placing orders more frequently, account security deserves particular attention.

One common threat is credential stuffing. Attackers use username and password combinations obtained from previous data breaches and automatically test them across other websites. This technique is particularly effective when customers reuse passwords across multiple services.

If an attacker gains access to a customer account, they may change delivery details, use stored payment methods, access personal information, or place fraudulent orders.

Several controls can reduce these risks:

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA): Introduce an additional verification step, particularly for administrative accounts and other privileged users.
• Login protection: Apply rate limiting, suspicious login detection, and appropriate controls against automated login attempts.
• Role-based access control: Ensure that employees and contractors can access only the information and functionality required for their responsibilities.
• Data encryption: Protect sensitive information both in transit and at rest, using appropriate encryption mechanisms.
• Session management: Invalidate sessions after password changes, suspicious activity, or other relevant security events.

It is also important to review what customer data your ecommerce platform actually stores. Avoid retaining sensitive information without a clear business or legal reason, and limit access to personal data across internal systems.

Effective ecommerce data protection is not just about preventing data breaches. It also reduces the potential financial and operational consequences of compromised accounts.

3. Secure Payment Processing and Checkout Flows

The checkout process is one of the most business-critical parts of an online store. If customers cannot complete payments, revenue is immediately affected. If payment information is compromised, the consequences can extend to regulatory obligations, financial losses, and reputational damage.

Payment security ecommerce teams should review goes beyond the payment gateway itself.

Start by examining how your website communicates with payment providers and how payment-related information moves between systems.

Key areas to review include:

Payment provider integrations. Check that connections to payment gateways use secure communication protocols and that integration credentials are properly protected. Verify that payment confirmations are received and processed correctly.

PCI DSS requirements. Review your obligations under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The applicable requirements depend on how your organization processes, transmits, and stores payment card data. Using an external payment provider does not automatically remove all security responsibilities from your business.

Checkout page protection. Make sure payment pages and their associated scripts are protected against unauthorized modifications. Formjacking and Magecart-style attacks involve malicious scripts that capture payment information directly from checkout pages, sometimes without visibly disrupting the purchasing experience.

Payment callbacks and webhooks. Verify the authenticity of incoming payment notifications. Your application should validate signatures, reject unauthorized requests, and handle repeated notifications safely. Otherwise, attackers may attempt to manipulate order statuses or trigger incorrect payment processing.

Fraud detection. Monitor unusual transaction patterns, including repeated failed payments, multiple card attempts from the same source, and abnormal transaction volumes.

Card testing is another risk worth considering. Attackers use automated scripts to test stolen card details through small or repeated transactions. A sudden increase in unsuccessful payment attempts can indicate this activity.

A secure checkout should protect both the customer and the business while keeping the purchasing process straightforward. Additional security checks should be designed carefully so they do not create unnecessary friction for legitimate buyers.

The PCI Security Standards Council provides official guidance on payment card security requirements.

4. Prepare for Malicious Traffic, Bots, and DDoS Attacks

A significant traffic increase is expected during Black Friday. The challenge is distinguishing legitimate shopping activity from automated requests intended to disrupt services or exploit business processes.

Not every unusual traffic spike is an attack. A successful advertising campaign, a mention by an influencer, or a limited-time promotion can generate substantial visitor growth. Security systems must account for these patterns without blocking genuine customers.

At the same time, ecommerce websites can face several types of malicious traffic:

• Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks: Large volumes of requests overwhelm servers or network resources, making the website or specific services unavailable.
• Automated bots: Scripts scrape product catalogs, collect pricing information, or attempt to exploit application functionality.
• Credential stuffing: Automated login attempts target customer accounts using previously compromised credentials.
• Promotional abuse: Bots create accounts in bulk, exploit referral programs, or repeatedly use promotional codes intended for individual customers.

A combination of traffic management and application security controls can help address these threats.

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) filters incoming requests based on security rules and can block common malicious traffic patterns. DDoS protection services help absorb or mitigate traffic floods before they affect critical infrastructure.

Rate limiting restricts how frequently a user, IP address, or application can perform specific actions. Bot detection solutions can identify suspicious automated behavior and apply additional verification where necessary.

However, these controls need to be configured with care. For example, an overly restrictive rate limit could block shoppers who refresh product pages frequently or make several legitimate checkout attempts. Aggressive bot detection could also affect customers using VPNs or shared networks.

The goal of DDoS protection for ecommerce is not simply to block as much traffic as possible. It is to maintain availability while allowing legitimate customers to browse, add products to their carts, and complete purchases.

5. Check Third-Party Integrations and Access Permissions

Modern ecommerce platforms rarely operate independently. They connect to payment gateways, CRM and ERP systems, inventory management platforms, shipping providers, marketing automation tools, analytics services, and other external solutions.

Every connection creates another potential point of exposure. A security issue in one integrated service can affect other systems if data and access permissions are not properly controlled. For example, an exposed API key could allow unauthorized access to customer records or inventory information. A compromised third-party account might also provide access to internal business systems.

Before peak season, review your integration system. Pay particular attention to:

• API authentication and authorization: Make sure APIs verify the identity and permissions of every request.
• Credentials and tokens: Store API keys, access tokens, and secrets securely. Avoid hardcoding credentials into application code or exposing them in logs.
• Third-party access: Review permissions granted to external vendors, contractors, and temporary employees.
• Unused accounts: Disable inactive accounts, integrations, and services that are no longer required.
• Data exchange: Check what information is shared between systems and whether it is protected during transmission.

The principle of least privilege is particularly important here. Each account, application, and integration should have only the permissions necessary to perform its assigned function.

It is also worth reviewing third-party dependencies and service agreements. Make sure you understand which providers are responsible for specific security controls and how they communicate incidents that could affect your operations. Your ecommerce website security is only as strong as the broader system supporting it.

6. Test Backups, Monitoring, and Incident Response

Preventive security controls reduce the likelihood of incidents, but they cannot eliminate every risk. Ecommerce businesses also need a clear recovery strategy. During peak season, the ability to detect an issue and restore normal operations quickly can make a significant difference to business continuity.

Start with your backup strategy. Confirm that critical application data, databases, configurations, and other essential assets are backed up regularly. Backups should be protected against unauthorized access and modification, including ransomware-related threats.

However, having backups is not enough. Your team should periodically test the recovery process to confirm that systems and data can actually be restored within acceptable timeframes.

Monitoring is equally important. Security and operational monitoring should cover events such as:

• Unusual login activity and repeated authentication failures.
• Unexpected changes to administrative settings or application files.
• Abnormal payment activity and unusual checkout errors.
• Unexpected increases in API requests or traffic from suspicious sources.
• Changes in system availability, performance, or error rates.

Configure alerts for critical events and make sure they reach the people responsible for investigating them.

Your organization should also have an incident response plan. It should explain who is responsible for technical decisions, how affected systems can be isolated, how services will be restored, and who handles internal and external communications.

For example, if suspicious scripts are detected on a checkout page, the team needs to know how to disable the affected functionality, investigate the source of the modification, and restore a verified version.

A rollback procedure is also important when deploying updates before a major sales event. If a new release causes unexpected errors or security problems, the team should be able to return to a stable version without unnecessary delays.

These procedures should be documented and understood before peak season begins. Developing a response strategy during an active incident adds avoidable pressure when every minute matters.

7. Run a Final Security Readiness Check Before Peak Season

Once individual security areas have been reviewed, bring the findings together into one practical ecommerce security checklist.

This helps technical teams, IT managers, and business stakeholders understand what has been checked, which issues remain unresolved, and where additional attention is required.

Use the following checklist as a starting point:

Area	What to check
Platform security	Software updates, known vulnerabilities, security patches, vulnerability scanning, and penetration testing
Customer accounts	MFA, authentication policies, session management, and access controls
Payment security	Applicable PCI DSS requirements, payment integrations, checkout scripts, and fraud monitoring
Traffic protection	WAF configuration, DDoS protection, rate limiting, and bot detection
Integrations	API security, third-party permissions, credentials, and inactive accounts
Data protection	Encryption, secure data storage, access restrictions, and tested backups
Incident response	Security monitoring, alerts, response responsibilities, recovery procedures, and rollback plans

Not every item requires the same level of attention. Prioritize issues based on their likelihood, potential business impact, and the time required to resolve them.

Critical vulnerabilities affecting payment processing, customer data, or administrative access should receive priority. Less urgent improvements can be scheduled according to available resources.

Ideally, complete this review well before advertising campaigns and promotional activities generate additional traffic. This gives your team enough time to fix identified issues, test changes, and confirm that security controls work as expected without introducing new performance or availability problems.

Make Security Part of Your Peak-Season Preparation

Preparing an ecommerce business for Black Friday involves more than ensuring that servers can handle increased traffic. The platform must also protect customer information, process transactions securely, and remain available when demand is at its highest.

A single security incident can affect several parts of the business simultaneously: checkout availability, payment processing, customer accounts, and internal operations. That is why ecommerce cybersecurity should be treated as a business continuity priority, not just an IT responsibility.

Regular security testing, software maintenance, reliable architecture, and a well-defined incident response process help businesses reduce exposure to potential threats and recover more effectively when problems occur.

Solbeg helps companies maintain, test, and develop software solutions that support reliable and secure business operations. Our teams work across custom software development, Testing & QA, IT consulting, and ongoing maintenance and support.

Preparing your ecommerce platform for peak season? Solbeg can help you assess your software, identify potential risks, and strengthen your systems before critical business periods. Contact our team to discuss your ecommerce technology needs.