Becom, the Belgian sister organization of Thuiswinkel.org, provides its members with website security through Trust Guard. Managing Director Greet Dekocker explains the decision: “Trust Guard clearly offers additional benefits, such as a high-quality scan, a clear dashboard, and personal guidance. Our members are very satisfied.”
Thuiswinkel.org and Becom share the same mission when it comes to safe online shopping. They also collaborate within Ecommerce Europe.
Becom’s Managing Director, Greet Dekocker, is the face of e-commerce in Belgium. She refers to herself as the ‘Mama of E-commerce’ and is also a top speaker in the Netherlands, including at Webwinkelvakdagen and Emerce. What is the importance of website security for Becom and its members?
Trust Guard as online air defense
“With Becom, we aim to grow Belgian e-commerce in a sustainable, secure, and reliable way,” says Greet. “Security is an important theme in this. We help our members secure their webshops and also assist them if they are fraudulently copied. We want to put security high on the agenda. Everyone involved in digitalization, big or small, must be aware of vulnerabilities. There are bombs, and they will fall—so make sure they don’t fall on you. You can think of the Trust Guard website scan as an air defense system.”
Becom Captains-members
Belgian online entrepreneurs can choose from two types of memberships at Becom: the entry-level ‘Trustmark’ membership and the more comprehensive ‘Captains’ membership. “Our slogan is ‘Digital Wings’. Members of the Captains program essentially ‘fly’ in the cockpit and steer our policy. They are often ‘captains’ in their own domain,” explains Greet.
The benefits of Trust Guard for Captains
Since 2023, Captains members receive the Trust Guard security scan, which helps them earn their ‘Security Badge’. Why Trust Guard? “Trust Guard clearly offers additional advantages. The scan goes beyond OWASP; it also meets the standards of PCI DSS, GDPR, ISO27001, HIPAA, SOx, and NIS2. I also find the Trust Guard dashboard much clearer than other scans. It clearly shows where improvements are needed, provides continuous up-to-date insights, and offers clear reporting. Moreover, Trust Guard offers personal guidance and support. We provide the scan quarterly, but additional scans can be performed at a small extra cost. Our members are satisfied. For us at Becom, it’s essential that they can establish a solid security policy with Trust Guard. The scans reveal what needs to be done to stay secure.”
Trust Guard on Belgian webshops
To earn the Trust Guard trustmark webshop owners working with Becom must follow several steps that culminate in Becom’s ‘trust profile’ widget. “The first step is a legal audit, which results in the ‘Becom Trustmark’ if successful. This is followed by the security scan with Trust Guard. When a green flag appears on the trust profile, an extra badge with the Trust Guard label is added. This badge can be displayed in various ways in your shop: as a sidebar or as a logo at the top or bottom. Everything is clickable, from scan data to customer reviews. With our widget, consumers know they’re in safe hands.
Fewer risks, more sales
According to Greet, the benefits of Trust Guard for members are significant: “It demonstrates that your shop is technically secure. It helps prevent damage and can also limit liability; in the event of a hack, you must be able to show that you did everything possible to prevent it. The damage can be enormous, including customer loss, personal liability, and fines. With a security certification, you build consumer trust and distinguish your shop from others. Remember, online sales inherently come with a degree of suspicion. With international brands such as Trust Guard, you reinforce your reliability, which also boosts conversion rates.”
Security missionaries
Becom aims to connect as many members as possible with Trust Guard. Additionally, Greet, together with Trust Guard, intends to keep the Belgian SME sector informed about cybersecurity through the ‘BeCyberSafe’ program. Greet states: “Security is sometimes made unnecessarily complex. With Trust Guard, we have a great partner who can simplify it. What is encryption? What is a DDoS attack? What is the importance of scanning? Together, we educate entrepreneurs about online security and work towards safe and reliable online shopping throughout Belgium.”
