Website Security 101: Protecting Your Site & Visitors From Cyber Threats

Cyber threats are growing more sophisticated by the day, and with more sites online than ever before—1.09 billion, to be exact—maintaining website security has become challenging, to say the least. Shockingly, 2023 saw a 72% increase in data breaches since 2021, breaking an all-time record.

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The good news is, that with the right security tools and techniques, you can stop these threats in their tracks. In this blog, we’ll explore website security best practices and explain how elk Marketing can help protect your site and visitors from bad actors. 

Understanding Website Security

Website security encompasses various protective measures and protocols to safeguard websites and website visitors against cyber threats. It covers a fairly wide range of practices designed to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data. Key aspects include:

• Firewalls
• Encryption
• Secure socket layers (SSL)
• Regular software updates

These measures play a key role in preventing malicious parties from exploiting vulnerabilities. They help protect sensitive information like personal data and financial details, which can easily be compromised during a cyber attack. Here’s a look at some of the most common threats:

Malware

Malware, as the name implies, is malicious software that damages or exploits programmable devices or networks. Examples include viruses, worms, trojans, and ransomware. Businesses are often on high alert for malicious activities, as they can be used to steal sensitive data and significantly disrupt operations.

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According to the SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, 2023 saw 2.7 billion malware attempts globally, with attacks on IoT devices up 37%. If you have yet to protect your systems from malware, now would be the time to do so.

Phishing

The term “phishing” might sound like harmless fun, but don’t be fooled—this tactic has nothing to do with boats and lake houses. It has brought disaster to countless businesses, most notably Google and Facebook, who were swindled out of $100 million between 2013 and 2015.

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In a phishing attack, impersonators pose as real people or companies to trick users into revealing personal information such as passwords and credit cards. In the Facebook-Google case, Evaldas Rimasauskas set up a fake business and sent phony invoices via email to employees at Google and Facebook, securing a substantial amount of money. 

DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) Attacks

The only thing worse than malware is an attack where multiple compromised systems are used to target a single system. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens during a DDoS attack. Malware-infected systems target vulnerable, untouched systems and overwhelm them with malicious traffic, thereby rendering them unusable for the duration of the event. 

SQL Injections

The SQL injection technique involves malicious SQL statements being inserted into an entry field for execution. This essentially gives attackers control over the database and allows them to retrieve, modify, or delete data as they see fit. 

Why You Should Be Concerned

Website security is crucial to protecting sensitive information and fostering customer trust. Research by the Harvard Business Review found that trusted companies outperform their peers by up to 400% in terms of total market value, demonstrating the clear importance of reputation.

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Good web security hygiene can also help your business comply with relevant regulations. Standards like the GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS mandate strict security measures for websites handling certain types of data, and non-compliance can result in hefty fines. 

Basic Security Measures For Your Website

Cybersecurity threats can be terrifying, but by taking a few precautions, you can safeguard your website and minimize incidents. Here are some basic security measures all businesses should have in place:

Regularly Update Your Systems

Keeping your software, plugins, and themes updated is paramount. Cyber attackers thrive in environments where things aren’t up to standard, so it’s important to always be looking for ways to improve your systems.

Use Strong Passwords

Strong passwords serve as a sort of digital wall protecting your systems from intruders. Good passwords are long—ideally, at least 12 characters. Be sure to use a mix of upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters.

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The most common passwords can be cracked in under a second:

• 123456
• admin
• 12345678
• 123456789
• 1234

Needless to say, you’ll want to avoid long sequences of numbers. Go for something that’s harder to guess and doesn’t follow any sort of obvious pattern.

Ensure HTTPS and SSL Certification

HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP. It uses SSL/TLS certificates to encrypt data between a user’s browser and a website. SSL certificates authenticate the site’s identity, ensuring data confidentiality and boosting user trust. 

Implement Firewalls

Firewalls do an excellent job of filtering incoming and outgoing network traffic. They adhere to defined security rules and make sure only approved traffic makes its way to your website, acting as a barrier between trusted internal networks and untrusted external networks.

Perform Backups

Regular website backups can help your company recover from data loss or system failures. They can be performed using automated tools or plugins. All backup solutions should include databases and files, and they should be stored securely offsite. 

Advanced Security Practices

While basic security measures are a good place to start, they’re not enough to effectively combat modern cyber threats, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in the digital ecosystem. To stay afloat in this climate, it’s important to implement the following best practices:

Security Plugins

As mentioned previously, security plugins are key to protecting websites. Popular plugins like Wordfence, Sucuri, and iThemes Security for WordPress offer robust protection including firewalls and malware scanning.

Monitoring and Scanning

You can’t fix problems that you aren’t aware of. By continually monitoring your systems, you can identify vulnerabilities and mitigate potential security risks. Tools like SiteLock, Norton Safe Web, and OpenVAS offer comprehensive scanning capabilities and can help maintain site security. 

Access Control

Think of access control tools like passwords to a secret clubhouse—you’ve got to say the right words or use the correct handshake to get in. Access control offers numerous benefits, including greater visibility and protecting your assets from external eyes. 

Incident Response Planning

You know what they say: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. While it may be impossible to prevent 100% of cyber attacks, you can prepare by creating a sound incident response plan. This plan should outline the steps to take in the event of a security incident, including identifying the breach, containing the damage, and recovering data. 

How Cyber Threats Impact Your Business

Cyber threats can have a devastating impact on your business. From lost revenue to reputational damage, it’s definitely in your best interest to safeguard your website to the greatest extent possible. Here’s an in-depth look at how cyber attacks can harm your company:

Financial Loss

Cyber threats can spell disaster for your revenue stream. Data security breaches are particularly damaging, costing organizations an average of $4.45 million per incident. Businesses may face higher expenses for incident response, remediation efforts, and future security enhancements.

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Operational disruptions caused by breaches can result in significant productivity issues. These incidents typically require all hands on deck, taking staff away from tasks and hindering revenue.

Reputational Damage

Word gets around fast in the business world, and a cyber attack can tarnish an otherwise stellar reputation. Consider how, in 2013, Target was hit by hackers who stole data from up to 40 million customer cards during the holiday shopping season. Not only did Target end up paying over $18 million, the biggest ever data breach settlement at the time, but they also suffered reputational damage that took years to recover from.

Customer Trust

Customer trust is a key element of reputation, and it is incredibly fragile. Cyber attacks can erode the trust customers place in your business, as demonstrated by the 2013 Target incident. Website visitors want to feel secure when browsing your site, and you can help foster trust by implementing strong security measures.

How elk Marketing Can Help

There’s no doubt about it—cyber security threats are terrifying and can have major consequences for your business. But don’t fret. elk Marketing is here to help. We offer extensive expertise in website security, with services including security audits, monitoring, and incident response.

We tailor security solutions to fit each client’s unique needs and can work closely with your business to find something that works for you. After all, each organization is different, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to cybersecurity and site performance. Whether you need help with website migration or security, we’ve got you covered. 

Additional Resources and Tips

CISA provides helpful tips and resources for managing website security. They also offer a detailed cyber essentials checklist to help companies develop solid cybersecurity strategies. CISA gives tips for everyone from leaders to IT staff, clearly defining roles and expectations for maintaining site security. They are a great go-to resource for anything related to cybersecurity. 

Improve Website Security with elk Marketing

While cyber threats can and should cause alarm, there’s no need to panic. By implementing the right security measures and best practices, you can ensure website security and give your site visitors peace of mind. To learn more about how elk Marketing can help, contact us for a consultation.