According to a data breach report from 2019, small business websites face around 43% of all cyberattacks. Many of these small businesses thought they were safe from cybercrime till they had to face it. If you have the same thought, you will be making a mistake.
The most common method a hacker will use to hack your business website is by looking for vulnerabilities (often not taken notice of) on websites and servers.
Prevent Hackers Accessing Your Small Business Website
In this small business blog post, we have some essential ways how you can keep your business website safe and guarded against hackers by using simple security measures. However, when you go through the tips, remember there is nothing like having 100% security or protection.
Nonetheless, these security measures will keep the attackers at bay as they will be met with a difficult challenge to enter your small business website.
6 Essential Security Measures
Do you wish to know the crucial basic security measures you should take to keep your small business website protected from cyber-attacks?
1. Install a Web Application Firewall
A WAF, or Web Application Firewall, is a crucial hardware or software installation you should have for your website. A WAF places itself between your data connection and the web server, reading all the traffic passing through. Once you install it, it will block all hacking tries and filter any unwanted traffic like bots and spammers, keeping your website safe and protected.
2. Use Strong Passwords
The importance of employing a complex password is known by everyone. However, some people still choose to ignore this fact and not create complex passwords. You must keep a strong password for your server and website admin section to keep your website secure. Besides, when you make it a practice of yours to keep different and difficult passwords, it will keep every account protected from hackers and spammers.
3. Keep Software Up-To-Date
The foremost critical step in keeping your website secure from cybercriminals, you update all software regularly or as soon as a new version comes into place. It means you update all software and server operating systems operating on your site like Content Management System (CMS). If you happen to keep the software outdated, it embeds vulnerabilities, making it easy for hackers to find them and misuse them.
4. Improve Network Security
At times, in a business, an employee (by mistake) can give easy access to the server of your site to someone. You should take a few steps to enhance your network security and stop something like this from happening:
- All passwords should get changed every 60-90 days.
- When there is inactivity, all logins should expire after some time.
- Any device that connects to the network should get scanned for any malware or virus.
- To keep the traffic on the site safe, ensure you have a VPN set up.
5. Establish SSL Certificate
A business website owner should have a Secure Sockets Layer or an SSL certificate installed to keep your site and the people visiting secure. What does an SSL do? It will encode all the communication happening within your site, between your site and its visitors, keeping it safe from hackers who wish to eavesdrop or spy on your small business.
You must have an SSL certificate established on your site; especially, if you happen to accept payments and require visitors to log in or transfer sites. A site not having this certificate cannot protect or hide its traffic and data from hackers.
6. Disable Form Autofill
Most business sites have forms customers will have to fill out to get their orders in. The big question is whether you have the form autofill enabled on your site or not. If you have the autofill enabled, the best thing would be to disable it. Why? It is because it makes your site more vulnerable to getting attacked if the phone or device of the customer gets stolen. Yes, customers will find it a little inconvenient. However, for small business websites, it’s always better to be safe than sorry afterward.
Additional Measures
Let us look at a few more ways you can keep your website safe and keep hackers away.
Use Security Plugins
The CMS (Content Management System) on your website will have the suggested security plugin. Ensure you use the recommended security plugin.
Restricted Access
Do you know who has permission to upload files onto your website? Ensure you know who can and cannot access files, which ones, and so on. Moreover, ensure you have antivirus software that will scan any files to stop malware and such viruses from your site and device.
File Access Permissions
All your directories and files related to your small business website and customers should have set permissions to who can access it and who cannot. Ensure you keep the list of users who can access, audit, or download all files updated. How can you do that? You can do that by setting the permissions on your cPanel access, or you can ask your hosting provider to add or update it for you.
eCommerce
When it comes to the eCommerce Store, you should take all the required security measures to ensure your business website stays protected and customer data also stays shielded and secured from any hacker.
5 Ways You Can Avoid Being Hacked
Here are 5 ways to avoid being hacked:
- Use strong and unique passwords for all your accounts, and avoid reusing passwords across multiple accounts. Passwords should be a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.
- Be cautious of phishing emails, which are designed to trick you into giving away your personal information. Don’t click on links or download attachments from unknown sources.
- Keep your software and apps up to date, and get rid of old apps you no longer use. This will help protect against known vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit.
- Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service when accessing the internet from public Wi-Fi networks. VPNs encrypt your traffic, making it unreadable to others on the network.
- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all your accounts. MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second form of authentication, such as a code sent to your phone, in addition to your password.
By following these tips, you can reduce your risk of being hacked and protect your personal information and online accounts.
Final Word
You must become proactive when it concerns the security of your website and keep it safe from hackers or spammers. Therefore, the owners of a small business website should take no chance regarding its security. You should ensure you make any modifications needed to ensure your business online stays safe.
Moreover, nothing should happen to the online reputation of your website. Imagine the toll it would take on your site’s reputation if your business got all over the news for getting its data breached.