Why Web Security is Important

The sad truth about having an online presence in today’s digital world is how online properties like websites, e-commerce solutions, and email systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks.

According to Statista, the average cost of a data breach worldwide is approximately $3.86m. As you can imagine, more businesses are processing and storing data online, especially information like customer details and card information. 

Why Should Your Website Be Secure?

Most website cyberattacks that occur are automated. What that means is even if you’ve just launched a new website on a new domain, and your site is yet to get indexed by search engines, it’s not immune from potential attacks.

These days, cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, so you must ensure your website can fend off any cyberattacks at all times. Here are some of the main reasons why that’s so important for your business:

Theft of Data and Payment Card Information

Firstly, if you operate an e-commerce platform on your website, you will likely process and even store sensitive data like customer names and addresses, and payment card details. If a cybercriminal stole such data, it could lead to catastrophic consequences for your business.

Thankfully, securing an e-commerce website will mean you can deflect such potential cyberattacks and ensure the security of each customer’s private information.

Degraded Website Performance

If your website became the target of a cyberattack and hackers managed to infiltrate your online security, you might notice degraded website performance. When that happens, your customers will find themselves waiting for slow site content to load.

They will likely find some of your content gets hijacked, and the malware placed on your web pages could even try to target each visitor to your website.

Negative SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

Google and other search engines regularly index websites to check for new content. If a search engine comes across content created by malware on your website, it will “red flag” your website.

What that means is any future visitors accessing your website will get a warning in their web browsers that your site has malware. The notice will also recommend the user doesn’t visit your site for now.

Damage to Your Business’s Reputation

Lastly, your website won’t be the only thing to suffer if you experience a cyber attack. You’ll also end up with lasting damage to your business’s reputation. As you can imagine, such a negative reputation can cause your customers to buy their products and services elsewhere.

It can be a devastating blow to businesses of all sizes, plus some firms could end up closing down in extreme cases.

7 Ways to Beef up Your Website and Email Security

Cyberattacks, malware, and data breaches are problems that no business wants to experience. The threat of such issues is very real and very likely. With that in mind, how can you prevent your website and your business from becoming victims?

The following seven ideas will help you to beef up your business’s website and email security. They are actionable steps that you can start taking from today; here is what you need to know:

1. Use a Reliable Host

Arguably the first step you should take is to make sure you are using a reliable web host. For instance, SaneChoice offers enterprise-grade web hosting services that are fault-tolerant, monitored 24 hours a day, and runs the latest web server software.

What’s more, you should ensure your web hosting provider installs any security patches when they get released to plug any potential vulnerabilities in databases or server-side operating systems.

2. Ensure Your Web Design Isn’t Vulnerable to Malware

Your web hosting might be up to scratch, but what about your web design? If you’re using custom HTML or PHP code on your website, it’s crucial you have it checked for any potential vulnerabilities.

It can make sense to migrate to a different CMS (content management system) or e-commerce solution. That’s especially true if your current solution no longer gets supported or no one at your organisation understands the underlying code behind your web content.

3. Lock Down Your Domain Name

Did you know that some determined hackers can attempt to hijack domains and have them point any HTTP requests to their servers? Doing so means they could create a clone of your website to steal customer login details and payment card information.

Most domain registrars offer automatic protection for domain names. If you’re unsure, check with yours or contact the domain registry associated with your website’s top-level domain.

4. Install a Website SSL Certificate

Secure browsing is a must in today’s digital world. The good news is most websites encrypt the data transmitted between servers and web users. But, if your website doesn’t encrypt information, you need to install an SSL certificate on your website.

In a nutshell, an SSL certificate, such as those offered by SaneChoice, boost trust and confidence with your website visitors. Make sure you select an SSL certificate appropriate to your website or company’s requirements.

5. Invest in Website Malware Protection

Who is monitoring your website for any potential malware infections caused by cyberattacks? If the answer is no one, you need to invest in automatic malware protection. SaneChoice offers SiteLock protection, but other products are also available on the market.

6. Set Up a Reliable Backup Solution

If a cyberattack is successful on your website, you will undoubtedly want to replace any affected pages with legitimate content. To do that, you must implement a reliable cloud-based backup solution, such as the excellent CodeGuard.

7. Protect Your Email From Spam and Viruses

Lastly, malware and “phishing” attacks can often occur when email recipients unknowingly open content that infects their computers. Thankfully, you can stop such problems at the source by investing in email filtering technology.

Conclusion: Why Web Security is Important

Cybercrime is a very real threat to anyone with an online presence. Luckily, you can take many actionable steps to prevent your business from becoming another cyberattack victim.