Solutions to secure your website from Cyber Threats in 2019

Maintaining a website can be quite complex when it comes to cyber attacks from hackers. Every business website is bound to face cyber attack and the trick is to know the solutions to be able to avoid external powers from intruding into your personal space.

Aim of website hackers

The hackers, once they hack your website, are not only able to gather all the data and information but also capture all the passwords and cost you dearly. Your website might also be used to publicize a spam. Thus it is important to know how to protect your website from hackers and other malicious attacks.

The Cyber security industry is expanding to invent more technologies on how to improve website security and provide protection to the websites due to the increased rate of cyber threats.

In 2016, 95% of violation records came from 3 industries only. According to recent studies, it has been proved that a cyber attack takes place in every 39 sec. 64% companies have faced attacks on their websites, out of which 43% are small businesses.

It is anticipated that the companies will suffer a loss of about $2 trillion in 2019 due to data breach. 3809448 records have been stolen since 2013 through cyber crimes.

It is predicted that nearly $6 trillion is to be spent for best website security by 2021. More than 3lakh job vacancies are to be expected by 2021 in cyber security department. The hackers invade your website through the weakest links.

Only 38% of organizations worldwide claimed to be fully prepared to encounter a complicated cyber attack. Companies have suffered more than $1 trillion dollar globally because of cyber crime.

Thus Web Design and Development is an important aspect that businesses need to look after for creating a secure website.

The methods of hacking

The hackers carefully chalk out a plan to enter into your website through any of the following methods:

Software vulnerability

• Structured Query Language (SQL) Injection: this is a string command which can be injected in search boxes, URLs and login pages which forces the database to give up the data.

• Cross-site Scripting or XSS: this is a hacking technique by which the start page of any website is made vulnerable by hackers and when users enter the page, the hacker establishes connection with the computer of the site-guest.

• Incorporation Vulnerabilities: due to uncertainty in malicious coding, spiteful users can use the basic mechanics to carry out their code if they found a website application useful.

Access control

Brute Force Mechanism: it creates a list of passwords with the keywords mostly used on your website. This aids the hacker to prepare a combination of usernames and passwords until he finds the right match to login and access your website. Users should know how to create a secure website login to be safe from such threats.

Methods of protecting websites from cyber attacks

While creating and developing a website, you need to keep in mind the website security checklist on how to protect websites from hackers and viruses that enlists the following points:

• Keep everything updated: your website applications, plugins, themes and other software need to be updated regularly. Not updating might make your website vulnerable to cyber attacks as hackers have the capability of scanning thousands of websites within an hour. So if a hacker enters into your program then hundreds of other might as well. With no regular updates you will not get the benefit of new security features that were accommodated in the new update.

• Check access control: store your data and information at the admin level of your website which the hackers cannot gain access to. Set usernames and passwords that is hard to guess. The default database prefix should also be changed. The frequency of login attempts should be limited within a certain period of time as the email accounts can be hacked too. And no login information should be shared over the email.

• Network security should be tightened. Access paths to site servers might be provided by the computer users working in your office. To avoid this, passwords should be strong and should be changed frequently; login sessions should expire after a small period of inactivity, and all the devices should be checked for malware. Top website security services should be availed and web security antivirus should be installed.

• A Web Application Firewall (WAF) should be installed: it is present between the data connection and the site server and records all the information passing through it. Several such free website security software are available. It blocks all hacking efforts. Comodo cwatch is software that is cloud based and explains the ways and means of protecting online website operations from hackers. It provides security as a service and sorts out the unwanted traffic. It operates on a standard subscription fee.

• Admin pages should be kept hidden: the robots_txt file should be used so that the search engines are not allowed to record the admin pages. It is tough for the hackers to trace a locked website and an admin page if they are not indexed.

• Regular back-ups: just in case of the worst scenario, everything should be backed up. Back ups should be done on-site and off-site and should be done numerous times per day. When a user backs up, the data is saved in numerous locations. By this means you will not lose your data if the hard drive fails.

• Security applications can be installed: several free of cost and charged security applications and plugins are available that cause problems for hackers. In fact, some plugins such as Acunetix WP Security hides the individuality of the website’s Content Management System (CMS) thereby offering extra safety measures. This provides you with more power to withstand the computerized hacking tools that hunt the web. Acunetix WP Security shows you how to create a secure website with WordPress.

• Companies might use a private network of their own for sharing information known as the intranet. Encryption is a suitable intranet security policy through which data is transformed into an unidentifiable form. Several companies use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology for online shopping which is a standard encryption tool. Web addresses that contain HTTPS before them are encrypted and use SSL. Data encryption provides external and internal website security.

Verdict

The future of intranet can be made to shine brightly by developing the website security. The web design companies should strive to increase website security in the future to avoid cyber crimes.