A majority of website owners lack the ability to distinguish between well-built and well-maintained websites. Simply put, a well-built website may not be well maintained and may come under cyber-attacks. For website owners that invest in SEO, a cyber attack can negatively affect your rankings and even get you blacklisted from Google. Read on to learn 7 crucial steps to secure your websites against malicious cyber attacks.
7 essential steps to secure your website from cyber attacks
When your website is your main source of income, you must take every precaution to keep it safe because cyber attacks are on the rise globally. Many multinational corporations, including banks, the electrical grid, and national transportation websites, have been targeted by cybercriminals. The hazard is more devastating for small and medium-sized enterprises since they have a smaller window for recovery. So, read the 7 steps below and apply them to secure your website(s) now.
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Deploying HTTPS protocol
Many browsers, as you may have seen, prevent you from browsing websites that do not use the HTTPS protocol. It’s crucial to realize that a website always talks between a server and a client, making communication security absolutely essential. Using HTTPS protocol helps stop hackers and online attackers from interfering with client communications on your website. In essence, HTTPS protocol allows for communication and data encryption, which is very necessary for the current cyber threat scenario.
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Secure login credentials
Signup and login systems are required in many situations on dynamic websites. For instance, if your company has numerous employees managing an e-commerce website, you must give each employee their login information. If your website’s login information is not secure, hackers may be able to access it, manipulate it, or steal sensitive data. The best way to secure login credentials is by implementing multi-factor authentication or two-factor authentication, which utilizes an OTP system to prevent the entry of unauthorized personnel into the website.
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Locking down your IP address
Your website may frequently need to be migrated from one platform to another. The risk is quite significant when migrated websites were previously used with third-party programs. Locking down your computer’s IP address (website’s administrative system) and turning on two-factor authentication are therefore always crucial. By securing and enabling authentication, the third-party apps should also be blocked from accessing the IP address. This will stop fraudulent users from other areas or nations from accessing crucial apps that stores user data and critical information.
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Enable AI-driven security
Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to design intelligent components, many of which are used in the security industry. Protecting your website from malware, phishing scams, and hackers becomes a taxing task for the security experts working for you if you have a highly dedicated corporate or e-commerce website connected with various devices and networks. Thus, an AI-driven security system becomes very effective and saves time and money. To provide smart protection for the entire website and network, which may include sensitive information and devices that are the main targets of the global hacker mafia, AI or IoT security is very vital.
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Get SSL Certificates for your website
Numerous browsers have begun to issue repeated warnings for unencrypted websites. In order to protect user data, confirm website ownership, stop attackers from building a false version of the site, and build user trust, SSL Certificates are now required for both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox as of 2017. It is important to note that websites without SSL will still work, but they will be vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Furthermore, SSL Certificates are a requirement for your website if you want to benefit from attracting new customers and leads from search engines.
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Always update website templates and plugins
Website owners use templates and plugins frequently, but very few are aware that out-of-date templates and plugins are vulnerable to hackers or cyber attacks. If you use a plugin but don’t update it, it becomes obsolete and is no longer in the hands of the plugin’s creators, who are also unable to offer assistance. You should be aware that plugin developers frequently offer updates with patches and fixes to address documented concerns and fortify your website’s defenses against online attacks from hackers. Older plugins not only compromise web security but can also trigger bugs.
Expert Tip: To advance their security and protect against malware and hackers, many cyber security specialists trust third-party plugins and applications. Firewalls and deploying malware scanning software are two examples. By examining and censoring the traffic between each web application and the internet, a firewall aids in the protection of a company’s web applications. Scanning programs like WordFence are utilized to thwart intrusion attempts, spot malicious behavior, and deploy strong security for WordPress sites. Cyber security professionals also heavily rely on Sucuri, which is the only security solution with a server-side scanner. By directing your DNS to Sucuri, you may route traffic while avoiding malware and online attackers and even help blacklist malicious elements.
Conclusion
If your website is attacked, you may need to invest a significant sum of money to address the security issues because cyber security is a wide and highly specialized industry. Therefore, it is preferable to always take preventative measures and increase awareness of website security protocols amongst your staff or website authors. If these six steps are followed, your website will be more secure and free of malware attacks. Finally, you should constantly perform routine maintenance on your website to remove any bugs or other issues that may be present.
