Security Threats to Databases in E-Commerce Systems: A Systematic Literature Review

Data is a primary by-product of each business. A typical business organization uses a database system to store and manage data. On the other hand, databases are the primary target of hackers and attackers. The existing literature shows that modern database systems are vulnerable to various data breaches, cyberattacks, or malware attacks. Modern business organizations and e-commerce owners look to protect their sensitive data by using secure database solutions that ensure restriction to unauthorized access, modification, or deletion of data. In the last decade, business organizations have also been relying on cloud-based storage solutions and these are also facing various security threats. Considering the sensitivity of database security, there is a need to investigate the existing security challenges to databases, existing well-known threats, and their possible solutions. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the impact of well-known security threats such as SQL injection, Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, supply chain attacks, ransomware, unauthorized access, etc. on modern business and e-commerce systems and this study presents the import insights of the study, observations and findings of this review-based study. The findings are synthesized to define a set of guidelines for security analysts, database administrators, and researchers to understand and mitigate continually evolving security threats to databases.