Threats on the Internet are many, and they come with different disguises. Dealing with such risks daily is part of the online adventure for websites’ owners. Everybody, big, medium, and small businesses, can be targeted. The best practice is not to underestimate the importance of securing your business website.
Fortunately, there are different actions you can implement to make your defenses more robust. Let’s check some.
Get Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate
SSL certificate is a cryptographic protocol that protects the communication between browsers (users)-name servers (websites). It verifies the server’s identity, and it encrypts the data they exchange to remain private. There are diverse SSL certificates with different levels of security.
The more protected websites are, the better. Especially the ones who manage sensitive clients’ data or payments. In such cases, SSL is obliged by the Payment Card Industry (PCI). Search engines also promote the use of SSL. Sites with it enabled get ranked better because they provide more trustability for visitors.
Build strong passwords
This point seems obvious, but constantly, passwords are not considered as important as they totally are.
- Dedicate time to build strong passwords.
- Use long combinations of random characters.
- Change passwords regularly.
- Don’t recycle passwords.
- Prefer two-factor authentication (2FA) for an extra security layer. Once a person fills the username and password text fields, access won’t be given immediately. Another info will be required before that.
- Use tools to create hard-to-crack passwords.
- Don’t share passwords.
Control your website’s files and directory strictly through permissions.
Such info is vital for websites to operate, data, scripts, etc. But they can be used to attack you by altering them or infecting them. Prevent risks by enabling permissions to allow the reading, writing, or executing on every file and only for the right people. To leave open access for everybody without controlling what they exactly can do, opens severe vulnerabilities for your business website.
You can enable these permissions through your control panel or your CMS.
Keep your website’s software updated
Currently, it is not so complicated to keep every piece of software updated. Most (content management systems, themes, plugins, etc.) feature automatic updates. But still, some tools and platforms require manual updates. Like bad quality one or gotten from not trustable sources, outdated software means vulnerabilities for websites. Set your updates properly in the dashboard and close these dangerous possibilities.
Get DDoS attack protection
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) is a lethal threat for businesses. Giant ventures across the world, with robust infrastructure and security, have been shut down. Considering the threat targets all businesses, better invest from now in mechanisms for strengthening your defenses. If your business need 100% uptime, get DDoS attack protection, a powerful firewall against malicious traffic. To prevent is less expensive than to fix the mess a DDoS attack generates.
Train and involve your employees in security matters
The top-notch tech installed on your website is not enough to keep it safe. Humans who access it need to be trained and involved. Share security practices with every member of your organization. Recently, it has been revealed that the massive SolarWinds security breach (2020) that lasted months may have been a human’s fault. An intern set a password for critical access just like “solarwinds123” and after, he shared it on GitHub. If true, a single password was enough to take down a country’s defenses (U.S.).
Conclusion
There are ways to strengthen your website’s security. The Tech industry develops simple and complex tools to help you, but still, a lot can be done directly by you and your team. Human errors are the biggest vulnerabilities for businesses.