What is a Chatbot?
Chatbots are friendly assistants found on various websites that assist you in navigating that website and helps in placing an order, booking tickets, answering questions, etc. They act as customer support agents for basic services and will also redirect you to a human agent for complex situations. They are available 24*7 to answer customer’s queries.
When you visit a website, a pop-up appears asking,”Hi, how may we help you?” or “Are you looking for something?”
Once you reply to those questions, you start a chat with the chatbot. Based on your response, additional information may be provided.
Chatbots are pretty common now and are considered a trend that is here to stay! Does your company website have a chatbot?
Are Chatbots really secure?
Chatbots security risks come in two categories – threats and vulnerabilities. Data theft & spoofing or impersonating someone are common threats associated with chatbots. Vulnerabilities are ways in which the system can be compromised. The chatbot may be vulnerable and open to attacks if it is not maintained properly, lacks protection, poor coding, or due to employee error.
Guaranteeing chatbots security is very complicated. Even secure systems can be vulnerable sometimes and could be open for threats. There are a few security protocols you can implement to increase your chatbot security.
Chatbot Security
Authentication and Authorization are the two main security processes for chatbots. Authentication refers to the identity verification and authorization refers to granting permissions to perform tasks and functions.
Best Practices to ensure chatbot security
1) User IDs and Passwords
Allow only registered users to access your chatbot. Before starting a chat session, ask users to register to your website.
2) End-to-End Encryption
Make sure the chats with chatbots are end-to-end encrypted. This could prevent snoopers from stealing any data from the chat.
3) Biometric Authentication
Apart from user IDs and passwords, a fingerprint scan or iris scans can guarantee a high level of security. This could be done by companies operating in financial, banking and travel industries, to ensure maximum safety of user’s financial details.
4) Self-Destructing Messages
Having a system that automatically erases messages between a user and the chatbot after the session ends, is an excellent measure to make your chatbots more secure.
Conclusion
Chatbots are an innovative solution in the digital interaction space but are also prone to threats and risks. Criminals like easy targets and chatbots are an easy way to steal confidential data. Ensuring that your website is secured with layers of protective measures can make it harder for cybercriminals to prey on your website and will keep your customers’ data safe.
Want to upgrade your website to the maximum level of security? Get in touch with Trixter Cyber Solutions!
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