Web security is all the measures applied to prevent an online business from suffering cybersecurity incidents, such as information theft, and threats such as hacks or denial of service (DoS) attacks, among others.
SMEs have become the target of cybercriminals, who concentrate 43% of attacks globally on this segment of companies. This is partly due to their vulnerability. In many cases, they lack an adequate cybersecurity strategy that protects devices, systems, and users.
The estimated economic losses for each cyber attack exceeded $50,000. But, in addition to the monetary loss, companies also risked losing the trust of their customers. This translates into a drop in loyalty and a reduced ability to attract new customers. Ultimately, this results in a reduction in sales. In fact, according to various studies, 60% of cases are not able to recover.
For this reason, we have prepared this article to tell you the main factors for securing your online business from cyber threats.
Importance of cyber security for your online business
It is clear that digitization brought incredible benefits for companies and professionals, but also new challenges to face. In that sense, online business owners or developers are required to implement all necessary web security measures to prevent hacks and cyber attacks.
Offering secure web pages is not only important but mandatory. Year after year, the numbers of Internet fraud and other cyber threats increase alarmingly. These malicious attacks are capable of taking down a service or website, preventing users from accessing it, and preventing it from working properly.
On the other hand, approximately 4,800 websites per month are compromised by formjacking, a technique that involves altering the code of a page to steal information from users, such as their bank details.
It is not only about avoiding cybercrime, but also about damage to the reputation of companies and developers responsible for ensuring the security of web pages.
Benefits of offering secure online business
When a company or entrepreneur hires a professional to program or develop a website, they expect the developer to deliver a secure and reliable website.
The reason is simple: online store security implies serious advantages, both for companies and for users.
Pay attention to all its benefits!
- Protects user information: A secure web page encrypts users’ personal information, preventing it from being read by third parties.
- Improve SEO: The reliability and security of a page are factors that search engines like Google take into account to position a website in search results. A secure page is more likely to gain visibility in search engines, increasing web traffic.
- Avoid legal complications: Today there are various regulations such as the RGPD that seek to protect the personal data of users. Leaks of sensitive data, such as medical or banking information, resulting from an insecure website, can lead to lawsuits or fines against the company.
- Increases trust: When a website is safe and reliable, consumers tend to trust the company more, which helps improve its reputation and brand image.
- Increase sales: In e-commerce web pages or online stores, it is essential that the site inspire trust in consumers since they will pay for your products or services there. The more secure the page, the lower the bounce rate and mid-stream abandonment.
7 Steps to secure your online business from cyber threats
It is clear that development professionals must stay up to date on the main cyber security measures. Now, what are the steps that cannot be missing from a secure online business? Let’s see!
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SSL Certificate
The SSL certificate (Secure Sockets Layer) is one of the essential elements in any secure web page. It is a security protocol that enables an encrypted connection between the server and the web browser.
Currently, almost all browsers differentiate between sites that have this certificate and those that do not. In case they do, it will show the acronym HTTPS, which means that it is using the “secure hypertext transfer protocol”.
Pages with the least secure version of this protocol (HTTP) are penalized by Google and directly blocked by some browsers.
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Backup
Another key web security measure is to back up your site, either manually or automatically.
In this way, in the event of any cybersecurity incident, it will be possible to recover all the lost information and mitigate the damage caused by any threat.
As you can imagine, it is essential to save the backup on a server other than the website, such as a cloud service or an external hard drive.
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Quality hosting
Web security largely depends on the hosting service provider. Therefore, when choosing a web hosting plan, make sure it is reliable and has adequate security measures.
In that sense, some points to consider are if the provider uses the secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) and if it offers security updates.
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Web Application Firewall
Web Application Firewall or WAF helps filter web traffic and prevent hacking attempts.
This is a key measure to protect web pages from malicious scripting (XSS), SQL injection, or site spoofing (CSFR) attacks.
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Updates
If there is an infallible rule for any application or program, be it web or not, it is that if it is not updated, it is not safe. In fact, the lack of updates is one of the main causes of cybersecurity incidents.
Updates usually include improvements and fixes to mitigate vulnerabilities in the system. As such, keeping website software and plugins up to date should be a priority to ensure website security.
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CMS Configuration
If you use a content management system (CMS) like WordPress, you need to change the system’s default settings, such as permissions, comment control, and user visibility.
This is important, as to easily hack a website many malicious bots take advantage of developers using the default settings of the CMS.
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Strong passwords
Although it may seem obvious, it never hurts to remember it: having weak passwords is one of the most frequent human errors that lead to unwanted logins and data theft.
Make sure you use unique passwords that are long and mix letters and numbers. Also, if you work as a developer in a company, the ideal is to inform the area leaders so that all employees with access to the web have strong passwords.
That’s all for today!
Now that you know the main factors that you must take into account to ensure cyber security for your online business, you are ready to create a secure and reliable online store. To get reliable and secure IT support services, you may check Technology Solutions.
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