The thought of having all your business data wiped out or altered is certainly a scary one yet a risk that a lot of websites constantly face today. With hackers getting more sophisticated with every passing day, your site can fall victim to a data breach at any time if you do not have effective security measures in place.
As long as your web property is online and being seen by others, the risk of getting hacked is something you cannot afford to ignore even when you think your site has no much real value to attackers. Remember, once a hacker has access to your web files or server, you’re likely to lose control over a platform you’ve worked so hard to build. And it could even be worse if the breach also affects others who you share the web space with, for example, in the case of shared hosting accounts.
Here, we share five simple changes you can make to safeguard your site from hacking today.
Keep your themes and plugins up to date
One of the common ways attackers use to get access to your website is exploiting vulnerable plugins and themes. While developing these third-party apps, code errors can occur leaving loopholes which attackers can potentially use to exploit your site. Also, most developers use open-source software programs to build plugins and this easily exposes code to malicious hackers.
A good measure here is to install new versions of your plugins and themes as soon as they’re released. This is because most developers tend to update their apps in response to a growing need including to seal a possible loophole for hacking and other attacks.
Regularly back up your site
If the worst happens and hackers get access to your site’s admin area, chances are high that they will interfere with your work or even delete your site. This is where backups can really come in handy.
With backups, it’s easy to build a site afresh and start all over again since you have all your original data stored safely somewhere.
In most cases, backups provide a restoration point for when the original data gets destroyed and a reference point when it’s altered. Even then, you need to ensure that the backup data remains up to date so that it’s relevant when you need it. An ideal approach is to automate the process so that your web files and user data are mirrored on backup locations as regularly as possible.
Install a security socket layer (SSL)
If you’ve been using the internet long enough, you’ve certainly noticed that almost all websites today use HTTPS. Usually, this feature is enabled by installing a Security Socket Layer (SSL) certificate on a website to facilitate the secure exchange of data on the internet. You can quickly find out whether your site is using SSL by looking for a green lock icon in the address (URL) bar once it loads on your browser.
Implementing SSL helps to secure your site against the spying of crucial user data that often occurs through man in the middle (MITM) attacks. This hack is known to gather login info, credit card details, and contact info that your customers feed in your database which means hackers can exploit their privacy.
Tighten your network security
It’s easy for malicious programs such as viruses and malware to migrate from other computers in your office network to your own. This often occurs when you do not have the right tools and applications for scanning malware in the files others share with you.
A good example here is a key-logger which has the potential to record all keyboard inputs, save them in a file and send it to an attacker. This malicious program can quickly expose your site login information as well as other private data. So what can you do?
First, ensure that your site logins expire after a short span of inactivity to deter attackers from lengthy system access. Also, form a habit of using strong passwords and changing them frequently to lock out attackers. Moreover, scan your network as well as your computer for malware as regularly as possible to catch malicious programs like key-loggers.
Conceal your admin pages
When running a website, keep your admin page away from the public and this includes search engines that can index it. Remember, this is where you enter your login information and therefore you cannot risk making the page public.
For example, if you’re using WordPress, advanced attackers can easily find out the login username of a site that makes public its admin page. Using brute-force methods, they can then try to guess your password and if successful gain access to your site.
An effective security measure you can use here is to implement robots txt file to discourage search engines from indexing your admin page. This makes it hard for attackers to learn about it during their explorations.
What other methods are you using to keep your website away from the prying eyes of hackers? We’d love to hear your feedback.