Is your website secure?

21 Feb Is your website secure?

You’ve worked hard to build your business, your customers trust you with their private information and you know that its kept safe within your website database… right, it is right?

Cybersecurity is a must have for website owners today to protect the private information that your business collects online from your cutomers. Cyber-attacks or ‘hacks’ are becoming a daily threat to businesses. Here is a list of the latest cybersecurity statistics to help you understand how prevelent this issue is.

• Cyber-attacks happen once every 39 seconds.
• 95% of cyber-attacks are due to human error.
• Globally, an estimated 30,000 websites are hacked each day.
• 43% of cyber-attacks target small businesses.
• Only 5% of company folders and files are properly protected.

Now that probably got you thinking about the security of your own business’s website, and we bet it’s not a comfortable feeling right? As those stats will tell you, you’re not alone in feeling that way but don’t worry, we’re here to help. First lets find out if your website is secure.

How can I tell if my website is secure?

1. Check if your website have an SSL: An SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, a security protocol that creates an encrypted link between a web server and a web browser. If your URL starts with HTTPS, it has an SSL certificate. But if it starts with HTTP, it does not.
2. Look for a closed padlock in the address bar: If you see a closed padlock at the beginning of the address bar, the site is secure.
3. Pay attention to the warning signs your browser issues: If you use an open padlock, as opposed to a closed one, the site is not secured by SSL. Also, if the padlock is red, if there is a line drawn through the site address, or if you see a warning triangle over the padlock, the site has not been secured.

So now that you can identify if your site is secure or not, lets look at how you can protect yourself and your customer’s information better.

Here are some ways you can keep your website safe and secure

Security Plugin:
If your website has been built by TGM – it is most likely to have a security plugin installed called Sucuri Security or Wordfence. These plugins are security suites that are meant to complement your existing security structure within your site. They send you notifications whenever there is an update on your website. Some of these updates include, someone trying to login to your website, plugins that need updating, or when a new post has been created.

Keep your website and its plugins up to date:
When developers release website or plugin updates, they typically contain patches and fixes to resolve known issues and to strengthen your site against attacks. If you don’t keep up with plugin updates, you leave your site open to attack. Not only do outdated plugins cause security issues, but they can also make your website buggy.

Make sure you have a reCAPTCHA on your website
reCAPTCHA protects your website from fraud and abuse and allows you to verify if an interaction is legitimate without any user interaction. It uses an advanced risk analysis engine and adaptive challenges to keep malicious software from engaging in abusive activities on your website. You have most likely encountered a reCAPTCHA when filling out a form on a website. It often asks you to verify with the “I’m not a robot” checkbox or an image-based challenge.

Strong and unique passwords

Make sure your passwords are strong and unique. The more complex they are, the more protected your website will be from hackers and malicious software.

If you’d like more help to secure your site our team are just a call away. The TGM creative team can help you with SSL certificates, schedule regular site and plugin updates or even rebuilding and moving your site to a more secure platform.

Statistic source: https://www.zippia.com/advice/cybersecurity-statistics/