Thousands of websites have fallen victim to cyberattacks and data breaches. There is no doubt that data breaches are increasing at an alarming rate. The attackers appear to be breaking into websites by leveraging vulnerabilities that exist in servers and website configurations. The prevalence of website security threats drives us to conclude that site security matters today more than ever before. This guide has listed ten best practices that will help you secure your website.
Best Website Security Measures For Every Website
1. Choose a Reputable Hosting Provider
For the safety of your information, you must ensure that you only work with a reputable hosting provider. The right web hosting provider will ensure that your website is adequately protected and well-equipped to prevent security threats.
Most website owners prefer using shared hosting platforms because of the discounts and low-cost advantages. However, most shared platforms do not have adequate security measures that will help you create a secure site. When choosing a web hosting provider, always have security in mind. Do your research on the various hosting providers and choose that which brings maximum security advantages.
2. Use Proper Password and 2FA
Unauthorized access has been one of the prominent cybersecurity concerns that website owners face today. Only two things can save you from this menace- strong and unique passwords and multi-factor authentication.
There are several best password practices that you should adhere to.
It would be best if you understood that passwords alone could never be enough in securing your website. It would help if you supplemented them with two-factor authentication processes. With 2FA, even if a hacker succeeds in getting past your login credentials, the hacker will not directly access your account as he will be required to go past the extra authentication procedure.
3. Install an SSL Certificate
If you have been using the internet for some time, you might have noticed that some website URLs start with HTTP while others begin with HTTPS. There is a big difference between the two. HTTPS websites have SSL certificates. The SSL certificate is one of the most vital security tools in website security.
The certificate secures the transfer of information between the server and the browser on the internet. The certificate ensures that sensitive information such as credit cards, contact details, and personal information is protected from hackers. If you care about the security of your website, you must buy SSL certificate and install it on the server. The SSL certificate will bring low-hanging fruits to your website. You will boost your ranks in search engines, increase user trust, and build a reputable brand.
There are a lot of Cheap SSL certificate providers in the market today. So, you will not have to spend an arm and a leg to acquire one. Grab yours today and strengthen the security of your website. You should ensure that you only acquire an SSL certificate from reputable Certificate Authorities.
4. Restrict File Uploads
There is a security problem when you grant your website visitors the freedom to upload files on your website. Malicious website visitors or hackers masquerading as legitimate site visitors will want to exploit and abuse that privilege. They will load harmful files, overwrite the existing files, or upload huge files that could compromise your website and stop it from functioning normally.
The best solution to this would be to restrict file uploads. If possible, you should not accept any file uploads on your website. Small businesses and personal blog sites can get along well without offering the file upload option.
5. Use Content Security Policy
One of the most dangerous website security threats that website owners should look out for is the Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attack. Cybercriminals will target your website pages to infiltrate them with malicious JavaScript codes. All your website visitors who become exposed to the code will have their devices infected.
CSP (content security policy) is an effective tool that will secure your website from Cross-Site Scripting attacks. The Content Security Policy will allow you to specify the domains that a web browser should regard as trustworthy sources for executable scripts. The browser will ignore all the unspecified scripts, including the malicious JavaScript codes and malware codes that might be on a mission to infect the devices of your web visitors.
6. Use Parameterized Queries
Another common and dangerous cybersecurity threat that can hit your website is SQL injections. SQL attacks are network security threats that allow hackers to execute malicious SQL statements. SQL injections will then take control of the servers behind a web application. Usually, SQL attacks will exist if you use a URL parameter that allows information from external sources. Because your website might hold a lot of sensitive customer data on its database, you must protect it from SQL injections.
One of the most convenient and easy ways to protect your website from SQL injections is by using Parameterized Queries. Parameterized Queries will ensure that your code has enough parameters leaving no room for a cybercriminal to mess them up.
7. Be Cautious with Error Messages
Keeping your error messages simple is a vital site security measure that you should consider. Although error messages will reveal the potential security vulnerabilities that your website might have, things might get messy when cybercriminals see the error messages. From the error messages, a hacker will know what your vulnerabilities are. It would then be easy for the hacker to lay a perfect attack strategy.
The best solution is to be careful with the details you give in your error messages. Ensure that you do not give out information that hackers will use against you. Keep the finer details to yourself and avoid giving out more than is necessary.
8. Keep software Up to date.
Failing to update your software is like leaving your doors wide open for cybercriminals. The best website security practice would be to keep all software up to date. If you are using a Content Management System to power your site, you will need to keep the CMS software, including plugins, up to date. Never ignore the “New Update Available” notification because, in doing so, you will be choosing to live with security loopholes that hackers can easily exploit.
9. Conduct Regular Data Backups
There is no such thing as an “Entirely secure site.” These measures will help reduce the chances of cybersecurity risks but will not eliminate them entirely. It would be best if you planned for the worst-case scenario.
Conducting regular data backups will help you recover your data in case of data breaches or losses. It would help if you also minded how you store your backup files. Ideal secondary storage sources include hard discs and cloud storage systems.
10. Multiple Security Layers
Of great essence in the security of your website is the number of security layers you have put in place. Having one or two measures would not be a good idea. You must ensure that you build a robust security defense system by having multiple security layers. You must adopt all the measures I have discussed above if you want to be on the safe side. The more security measures you have, the more secure your site will be.
Conclusion
People and organizations are in a rush to have an online presence. They are creating websites without having security in mind. In the long run, they end up falling victims to data breaches. The website security measures I have explained above are relatively painless and cost-effective. Even website owners who do not have tech knowledge can easily implement them. For the safety of your site security, ensure that you implement all the above measures.
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