Since 2004, the President of the United States and Congress have declared October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month, helping individuals protect themselves online as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace. – Cybersecurity Awareness Month – CISA
If you own a business website, it is extremely important to cover it with Basic Website Security Software. Hackers are always ready to find a way to break into your site, no matter if you have a landing page or a 20-page eCommerce website. Rather than being the victim of an attack, you must use the protocol to prevent these infections.⠀Cyberattacks are mostly caused by malware that can:
- Steal data or traffic
- Crash or slow your website
- Remove your website from search engine results
- Steal sensitive customer data, such as phone numbers or credit/debit card information
Thousands of websites get hacked every day. Hackers prey on and exploit vulnerabilities in a website and impregnate viruses and malware in the website’s code. The virus-infected software and malicious code can get distributed onto website visitors’ devices.
Having your website hacked is stressful, mainly when you depend on it for your business. Your business loses customers and reputation every minute your site is infected.
Here are several best security practices to consider to protect your website from cyber-attacks.
SSL certificate. If you collect private information from site users, you need a secure hypertext transfer protocol (HTTPS) that prevents data interception. SSL Certificates will encrypt information so that it cannot be breached.
Secure and Unique Passwords. A safe and unique password is one of the simplest ways to protect your website from Cyber Threats. Utilizing a unique password when signing into your site will help prevent accounts from being hacked. For example, you can use a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and special characters to create a secure password.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication. You need more than a password to protect your online accounts, and enabling MFA makes you significantly less likely to get hacked. MFA is a more secure user access management tool. It combines different types of security items. By providing, for instance, a password, confirmation code, and biometric data, the user must give complex pieces of evidence from various sources confirming that they are that person for gaining access to requested systems or information assets.
Website Firewall. Firewalls can block duplicate internet protocol (IP) addresses automatically, which prevents spammers and hackers from registering multiple accounts from the same computer.
Automatic Malware Scans and Removal. A virus can not only cause harm to your website but also ruin your overall performance and reputation.
Daily Malware attacks steal data and let Cyber Criminals take over your website. An automatic malware Scan and removal will scan for viruses and malware and protect your website from cyberattacks. As a business owner, you must have Automatic Malware Scans and Removal tool to protect your business.
Many Malware Scans and Removal tools, such as SUCURI, Astra, Wordfence, Sitelock, etc., can easily scan and remove the Malware and Viruses from your website.
Automatic Backups. If your business gets hacked or your theme updates crash your site’s data, backups are a way to get your website back up and running. Automatic Site Backups will save your files and help restore your website when any tragedy happens. Make sure you are dealing with a company that provides the daily backup so you will not have to return to an out-of-date site.
Keep your plugins up to date. Failing to update your software and plugins can result in security vulnerabilities and issues on your website. When website security holes are found in software, hackers quickly attempt to abuse them. And if you are using third-party software on your website, such as CMS (content management systems), you should set up reminders when it’s time to update and monitor your website for vulnerabilities.
Custom coding. Do-It-Yourself Designs may seem appealing for business owners, but building your website using a CMS and third-party plugins can open you up to possible security risks.
There is no surefire method to protect your site from hackers, custom coding following the security measures described above is the best way to reduce vulnerabilities and protect your customer information and company data.
A cybersecurity breach can be extremely detrimental and affect your business for days, weeks, and months. If you don’t have the resources to fix the issue, you may need to have your website completely redesigned and redeveloped, which will also cut into your business revenue.
Our technicians have experience dealing with these sorts of issues and will restore your site to perfect working conditions.
Cyber threats are not going away. They are increasing daily, and your business websites contain lots of important and confidential information that can get leaked or hacked by Cyber Criminals. You can decrease the odds of this happening to you by implementing proactive measures to secure your online presence. Online security for your website is important.
We’ve covered several ways to help you to protect your website from malware, viruses, and cyber attacks. Now that we’ve shared the basics to secure your website from cyber-attacks.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month Resources