In our last article, we talked about how building a website is like building a house. Now you’re done building and you have your shiny, fast and responsive website handed over to you, it’s very important that you secure your website so as to prevent any threats that me arise from uninvited guests from having access to your website. This is where web security comes in..
What is Website Security
Website security also known as “Cyber security” involves protecting website or web application by detecting, preventing and responding to threats or attacks. … Anything that is applied over the Internet should have some form of web security to protect it.
What are the Website security threats?
Web threats pose a broad range of risks, including financial damages, identity theft, loss of confidential information/data, theft of network resources, damaged brand/personal reputation, and erosion of consumer confidence in e-commerce and online banking. It is a type of threat related to information technology (IT).
Why is security important for a website?
Web security is important to keeping hackers and cyber-thieves from accessing sensitive information. Without a proactive security strategy, businesses risk the spread and escalation of malware, attacks on other websites, networks, and other IT infrastructures. Outside this, hackers can gain access into your server and may decide to use your server as an email relay for spam, or set up a temporary server to transmit files of illegal nature or even mine bitcoins.
In summary, provision for website security has to be made right from the initial planning/design of the website.
Security Tips To Protect Our Website From Hackers
Hackers are people who make use of computers to gain access to data.. Now you’re aware of what web security is and why you need to secure your website, let’s look at a few tips on how to protect our website from Hackers.
1). Make use of strong and secure passwords.
While setting up your password, try not to use easy alpha-numeric combinations like your birthday, middle name, name or something obviously tagged to you, You should make sure your password is a mixture of letters, alphabets and symbols. For example, “&Abc179=” . something like this will be difficult for hackers to break.
you can also make use of a passwordsgenerator to generate your password.
2). Keep your Website up to date.
If you make use of a Content management System like WordPress, make sure your Themes, plugins and scripts are up-to-date at all times. If they’re not updated, they could become a security vulnerability for hackers to exploit and gain access to your website and server and wreck further havoc.
3). Use security software and plugins.
There are numerous website firewalls you could subscribe to for constant protection. This could be installed on the website and also at the server level. Here are a few credible ones to choose from.
- iThemes Security
- Bulletproof Security
- Sucuri
- Wordfence
- fail2Ban
4). Discourage Users From Uploading Files.
Allowing users to upload files to your website can create security vulnerabilities. Hackers can upload executable files which also contain some malicious codes. When this file is opened, it can affect website operations or could be used to steal data from your servers. To prevent this, file upload could be limited to just a specific file type eg JPEG or if it’s a website that contains forms for users to fill, a separate email address could be provided through which users can submit their files.
5). Install and SSL Certificate.
Installing an SSL Certificate on your website is a security measure which ensures that the movement of data between the user’s browser and the website server is encrypted. This additional layer of security comes at a price. This price is paid yearly and the amount to be paid depends on the nature of the website involved.
6). Use HTTPS encryption.
Once your SSL Certificate is installed, your website is now qualified to use the https encryption. Your website address can now switch from http to https. Sometime in 2018, Google released a Google Chrome update which notified users of any website without an SSL certificate. It flags the website as “not secure” so users can avoid the website. This made web designers/developers to create more secure websites thereby encouraging Google’s push for a more secure internet.
Conclusion.
Securing your site and learning how to protect against hackers is a big part of keeping your site healthy and safe in the long run! Don’t procrastinate taking these important steps. Now you have a clear understanding of what website security is, what constitutes a web security threat, why security is important to your website and possible ways you could deploy to fend off hackers.
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