Nowadays, nearly every business has a website. Because of this move towards online platforms, hackers are working round the clock to penetrate these online sites with the aim of extorting money from the owners or stealing critical business data. In this article, you’ll see the top 5 ways to embed cybersecurity into your website.
Falling victim to cybercriminals could cost you thousands—or even millions—of dollars, depending on how valuable your site is. Therefore, you must put measures in place to protect your site from malicious attackers. Here are five practical ways to embed cybersecurity into your website:
1. Outsource IT Support
Cybersecurity is a complex undertaking that even the more advanced companies sometimes fail to master. You’ve undoubtedly heard of big enterprises suffering cyberattacks. That’s because hackers are getting smarter and bolder with their tactics. They dedicate their time to finding new ways to breach security protocols.
If you’re not vigilant enough with your website, you can easily get hacked. But since time may not be on your side as a busy entrepreneur, you’d want to outsource IT support to a reliable company that’ll monitor your website and other IT systems round the clock.
It’s also best if the company you work with is located within your area of business so that you can hold one-on-one meetings whenever the need arises. So, if your business is in a populous and buzzing business hub like Toronto, search for trustworthy IT support Toronto companies. These companies have the experience and expertise needed to handle all types of website security vulnerabilities.
2. Back Up Your Site Regularly to Embed Cybersecurity on Your Website
If hackers succeed in penetrating your site and corrupting your files and code, you could be at a great loss if you hadn’t backed up your data. All the years you’ve toiled to set up your site and grow traffic could be gone almost instantly.
So, make a point of backing up your site regularly. For instance, if you update it daily, then consider backing it up daily. And if you update it weekly, then weekly updates would do. Store the offline or cloud-based copies of your site for the past three months. This way, should you suffer an attack, it’ll be easier for you to restore your site using the saved files.
The good thing is that you don’t have to do the backups manually. There are backup tools you can use to automatically perform the backups following a set schedule to embed cybersecurity on website.
3. Update Your Software And Plugins
Using outdated software and plugins on your website makes you easy prey for hackers. Usually, software vendors release updates time after time to patch up security vulnerabilities. Failure to implement these in your site could allow hackers to take over your website, steal critical data from your databases, and insert malicious code to render your site unusable.
So, don’t ignore any notifications informing you to update your Content Manage System (CMS), website builder, or plugins. While some update automatically, others require you to kickstart the update process on your end. Performing the updates on time ensures your site has the highest level of security against cyberattacks.
4. Use Strong Passwords And Multi-Factor Authentication to Embed Cybersecurity
Implementing effective cybersecurity measures involves avoiding reusing passwords for your website. Likewise, you’d want to avoid weak passwords, such as your pet’s name or favorite color. Understand that hackers use advanced tools to attempt logging into your website portal using millions of automatically generated passwords.
So, if yours is too familiar, they can gain access to your databases quite effortlessly. And if your website password is the same one you use on several platforms, hackers can quickly recognize this and manipulate you accordingly.
Therefore, it’s critical to use strong passwords that contain a proper mixture of lowercase and uppercase letters, numerals, and symbols. You can also use a password manager to generate passwords, store all your online credentials in an encrypted format, and lock them behind a single master password.
Also, make a point of using multi-factor authentication for entry into your online sites. This security technology adds additional security layers to your site, perhaps by using biometric verification or sending verification codes to your phone once you log in using your password. The more barriers you set, the more difficult it will be for hackers to access your site.
5. Restrict The Number Of Login Attempts
As mentioned above, hackers have the means to force themselves into your website through numerous login attempts. Without a restriction in place on how many times they’re allowed to log in, they can go on and on to millions of attempts. But if you set a ceiling to, say, five times, you’ll make them quickly give up on their login attempts. They’ll find it a big waste of time, given that they’ll have to wait for several hours or days before they can try another five attempts. Thus, restricting the number of login attempts is an easy and effective way to deter hackers from breaking into your site.
Embed Cybersecurity on Your Website: Conclusion
Enforcing cybersecurity on your website is possible using several strategies. These include setting strong passwords, backing up your site regularly, limiting the number of login attempts, using multi-factor authentication, and regularly updating all website software and plugins. On top of these, you’d want to engage managed IT services providers who have the capacity, know-how, time, and resources to safeguard your site against cybercriminals.