The Steps You Can Take to Protect Your Website from Hackers

The level of concern around how to protect your website from hackers is becoming more and more of an issue as we become more dependent on technology. Just recently, Yahoo announced a hack that could affect up to 500 million users, with information like name, date of birth, and answers to security questions being compromised. In the United States, Target was hacked in 2014, with over 40 million credit card numbers stolen. As hackers grow more sophisticated, large hacks like this are unfortunately becoming more prevalent. Consumers are putting vast amounts of personal information on the internet or in other digital systems, making the information being stolen all the more alarming. It is the responsibility of businesses to take every step possible to prevent hacks and, if there is a security breach, alert their customers of any hacks and help them overcome it.

How to Protect Your Website from Hackers

Always Stay Up to Date

You can’t fight something if you don’t know it exists. Always keep updated on what threats are out there and what other companies are facing. Putting the correct precautions in the place it needs when new security threats emerge can protect your company from web hackers. A website like The Hacker News can keep you updated on the latest cyber-attacks and malware. In addition, always update your software right away. If a software update is happening because of a security vulnerability any delay in updating can leave you vulnerable to hackers.

Security and Firewall (Important for E commerce website security)

E commerce website security should be a big priority for businesses in the e commerce game. A web application firewall could be something for your business to consider. It can block hacking attempts to your website as well as other unwanted traffic like spammers. Security applications can also provide added bulk to your arsenal to make hacking all the more difficult. You need to have strong tools to use against cyber threats, so make sure that you’ve got all the protection you could possibly want or need.

Protect Your Admin Pages from All Levels

This is a must to protect your website from hackers especially for E commerce website security. A hacker gaining access to the admin level of your website is pretty much one of the worst case scenarios. It has information that would be terrible to lose in an attack, so make sure it’s as difficult as possible to gain access to this part of your website. Tighten up access to your admin page by enforcing complex usernames and passwords that won’t be guessed. Try to limit the number of login attempts, so hackers can’t use brute force guesswork to gain access. Also, you’ll want to hide your admin pages so they aren’t indexed by search engines. The harder they are to find, the harder they are to hack.

Back Everything Up. Twice.

Back up as frequently as you can. Technology can and will fail, so make sure you have precautions in place to save your data when it happens. This can save your life in the case of a hack or website crash. There’s a saying that goes “hope for the best, plan for the worst”. It’s good advice; listen to it. You never want to be that company that just wasn’t prepared for security breaches. Get informed and then be as prepared as you possibly can. If you do get hacked, you want to be able to honestly tell your customers you did everything in your power to prevent it from happening.

Be Honest

So let’s say you took the proper precautions and you still got hacked. What now? First of all, be honest with your customers about what’s happening. Don’t delay telling them, as sensitive information may have been compromised and they need to take the steps to deal with this. Tell them to how and when the hack occurred and encourage all customers to change their passwords as soon as possible. Yahoo waited five months after their hack to inform any of their users, leaving them seriously vulnerable to threats like identity theft. The trust of your clients is of the utmost importance, and lying or delaying the truth about security breaches can be particularly harmful to your perceived credibility. Make sure you tell them everything you are doing to further protect your website from hackers.

Seek Help if You Need It

Maybe you’ve been hacked and unsure of how to protect your website from hackers or what steps to take to ensure E commerce website security is not a concern. Or you’re in over your head and don’t know how to fix it. Know when it’s time to turn to an outside source for help. Recovering from a cyber-attack can be difficult for a business, and working to rebuild their website and online brand can be a daunting task.

The company Creative Creations is an example of how reaching out for help after a hack can make all the difference to recovering your customers and their trust. Creative Creations’ website was hacked in 2014. The hack caused their website to send out spam emails to their entire network of customers, thus diminishing their credibility. They approached Whitehat looking for a solution that would help them re-launch a more secure website, stop their domain name from being blacklisted on search engines, and stop the loss of subscribers due to the excess of spam emails.

Whitehat was able to help develop a new, more secure website and craft an online campaign that helped stem the loss of subscribers. By asking for help when they needed it, Creative Creations stopped their domain name from being blacklisted and avoided losing even more customers. If you have been hacked and are feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of damage control, don’t hesitate to reach out to a web agency that can help you. The quicker you act, the less damage done to your reputation.

Plan Ahead

Be prepared to ward against security threats and be equally as prepared for how to react to a security breach. When it comes to the security of your website, there’s no such thing as being over-prepared. And if you need a helping hand, ask for it. Whitehat Agency would be more than happy to help you build a more secure website or help your company recover after a website hack.