A website security check is one of the most fundamental elements of your company-wide cybersecurity strategy; after all, your website is the most obvious, public interface between the outside world and the safe confines of your company - the level of security afforded to your website, therefore, needs to be a top priority.
This is especially the case if you’re a small business - recent research indicates that half of all cyberattacks are targeted at small businesses.
While you may have your own processes and tools to conduct a website security check, it’s important that you understand what industry standards and best practices govern this area of cybersecurity. In this post, we dive into a few insights for your next website security check.
START BY BACKING UP YOUR DATA
Backing up your data is crucial before you embark on the process of securing your website. Here, not only do you need to make sure you’ve set up automatic backups but also have an offsite data backup.
Additionally, you also need to make sure you have a reliable recovery plan in the event that anything happens. Store a copy of the backup in a separate location, just in case you’re unable to do the site backup from its original location.
In this process, it’s important to ensure that these files are not corrupted or unusable.
USE SECURITY SCANNERS TO HELP YOU IDENTIFY LOW-LEVEL THREATS
There’s no reason why your website security check needs to be overly complicated. To make this process more efficient, consider using any of the security scanners available and determine where some of your more detectable vulnerabilities lie.
In the results section or if a security report is generated, make sure you go through it thoroughly and take steps to fix the issues that have been reported. After all, there’s no point spending thousands of dollars on security teams and sophisticated tools and applications if you’re going to neglect some of your more rudimentary vulnerabilities.
FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS ON USER SECURITY
Is user security a core element of your website security checks?
If you’ve neglected this area of cybersecurity, it’s high time to take a closer look and see what you can do to make your website secure. For one, start requiring users who sign up on your site - whether it’s for a subscription, offer, membership or anything else - to set up strong passwords including alphanumeric characters of a certain length.
Additionally, make sure you have verification mechanisms in place to ensure users are actual humans and not malicious bots.
MAKE WEBSITE SECURITY CHECKS A PART OF YOUR CYBERSECURITY ROUTINE
One thing we need to stress here is that website security checks should not be something you do quarterly or worse, whenever you remember. It’s crucial that you incorporate them into your routine cybersecurity activities as attacking websites are some of the easiest ways in which cybercriminals will try to breach your defences.
Given that new risks, threats, and vulnerabilities emerge at almost any given moment, it’s important to not just conduct frequent checks but also use tools that update themselves based on the new types of attacks out there.
IF YOU WORRY YOUR VULNERABILITIES ARE ANYTHING BUT RUDIMENTARY, HIRE EXPERTS FOR THE JOB
It’s easy to fall prey to the line of thought that hiring experts to do a thorough website security check is not worth the money - after all, how likely is it that you will even be hit with an attack?
This type of thinking is what gets many businesses into serious hot water. If you don’t have the knowledge or expertise to conduct a fully-fledged website security check, hire cybersecurity professionals, either temporarily or on a retainer basis, to make sure that your website is secured.
Take it from us - there’s no amount of money worth experiencing a data breach for.
NAIL YOUR NEXT WEBSITE SECURITY CHECK FOR STRONGER CYBERSECURITY DEFENCES
A website security check is a simple item on your checklist that may appear deceptively simple. Beyond making this a priority, it’s crucial that you undertake complete checks frequently and use tools that are designed to make this process more accurate and efficient.
Fortunately, you can now leave the bulk of a website security check to experts who know what they’re doing, without shelling out a fortune.
