One in 20 online shopping sites have been infiltrated by hackers who are actively stealing customers’ payment card details, according to new research by cyber security firm Foregenix.

The data, which comes from security scans carried out in the last month on 60,000 online stores, shows that five per cent of retailer’s websites are infected with rogue software or ‘malware’, which is stealing customers’ card details.

Furthermore, four out of five sites (78 per cent) are considered at risk of security breaches because they are running outdated versions of the software, which makes them easy targets for hackers.

Benjamin Hosack , co-founder of Foregenix, said: “As in-store payments become more secure, cyber crime is migrating online. With lists of online stores readily available, it’s easy for hackers to attack them en masse. The massive growth in online crime could make consumers more reluctant to buy online, especially from smaller traders.

“Breaches of security are also getting more expensive and it’s the small firms which are worst affected. Given that it takes six months for the average trader to realise they have been hacked, those for example with 100,000 transactions a year, could face a fine of roughly €450,000 – a sum beyond the means of many SMEs.”

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