4 Ways to Protect from Website Threats

The technology of today means that your business has to take extra measures to ensure that your data and other information is protected. Websites have provided incredible ways to communicate and share information. However, they also present hidden dangers if you don’t take the right steps to mitigate the security risks. Here is how to protect yourself from website threats:

Testing

If you don’t test your own security measures, then there is no way to know how vulnerable you are. But if you use something called penetration testing, you can put up virtual barriers that make it almost impossible to be hacked.

Penetration testing involves hiring someone on your team or externally to spend time trying to hack your websites. They will test it from a variety of angles. For instance, perhaps you have a weakness to cross site scripting, which is an attack vector that involves Javascript. Or maybe the submission forms have some extra code that can be hijacked.

You won’t know where you need to add extra “armor” without the appropriate penetration testing. But the good news is that the right testing lets you deploy your resources in a way that protects your website from being invaded.

Even if you don’t store any personal or private company information in the cloud on your site, you could still be putting your customers at risk. Every time they go to check out, their credit card details are being transferred over the web. Think about that next time you consider skimping on getting penetration testing done.

Audits

Where as penetration testing is specific kind of test that identifies where you are vulnerable, audits are somewhat different. Instead of using someone in house potentially, you always outsource this to a neutral third party. The reason is that they won’t be afraid to give you the news straight about the situation of your web security.

Security auditing firms will take your website apart in every way to see where you are more likely to have an attack. They will not just do penetration testing, but they’ll look at higher level strategies that you are using (or failing to use) with regards to web security.

For instance, one of the biggest vulnerabilities in any website that is often overlooked is the human element. You can have the best software in the world but if one of your employees gets fished, your info could be out in the open. All it takes is one spoofed email from a supposed “bank” or “supplier” and if your employee clicks on the link, it could give digital intruders access to your entire system. Audits help instill the right kinds of habits and security protocols within your company to prevent something like this from happening.

Air Gaps

If technology has proven anything, it’s that the internet is perhaps the most powerful tool ever imagined. It connects almost every machine on the network with every other machine, much less humans.

What this means for you in terms of website threats is that if you have a computer connected to the internet, you should assume it’s vulnerable. Create air gaps to mitigate this. This involves having machines with vital passwords disconnected from any kind of network to prevent online hacking.

Firewalls

Without a firewall, you’re bound to suffer some kind of intrusion. One particularly important aspect of your security is a web application firewall. A firewall blocks traffic on a low level, stopping hackers in their tracks before they can gain access to the software level and wreak havoc.

When it comes to online threats today, it isn’t just the big businesses that are in danger. Hackers target any business they believe can lead them to what they want. This could be your customers’ information, banking information, or secrets of the trade. Whatever you’re trying to protect, make sure you’re using the four tools above. That way you can have peace of mind instead of stress around your company’s cyber health.