Why you need website security driven web design
Website security is vital to keeping your website online and safe for your visitors.
Do you need website security?
It depends on who you ask, if you have a basic html site with nothing but text, images and links to other pages and no user interaction besides reading, then most people will answer no, as a simple html site doesn’t need a web application firewall.
If you ask me that same question then the answer would be Yes, absolutely. Website security is not included with most web hosting packages out there. The responsibility of securing a website is on the website owner. Security should be one of the first considerations when setting up a website and an ongoing process of review. If a website is not secure, it can become low-hanging fruit for cybercriminals. You may not need a WAF but you still need one layer of website security; You.
With this kind of website you can still be vulnerable to hackers who will use phishing scams and social engineering to try to gain your ftp credentials, once a hacker has these they have access to your server and can do anything they want, so yes you still need website security, you are the security layer here.
Most websites these days need a little more functionality, contact forms and other forms of user input including e-commerce, commenting on blogs etc and quite often you’ll be using CMS software with software plugins to add functionality, so if you have a website that falls into this category you are going to need a WAF (web application firewall) to help protect your website from hackers.
Why is security so important?
Website security is vital to keeping your website online and safe for your visitors. Without proper attention to website security hackers can exploit your website, take it offline and impact your online presence. The impacts of a hacked website can include financial loss, brand reputation issues and poor search engine rankings. A web application firewall (WAF) will protect vulnerable areas of your website and block access to certain files on your server and defend your database from SQL injections, defend your website from DDoS and brute force login attacks.
What sort of hacking attempts does WAF prevent?
There are two ways a hacker will approach your website and that is through vulnerabilities and exploits using various tools and malicious user agents to hack your website. A vulnerability can be an area of your site using out of date software, flawed process or week passwords, in fact any area where there is a loophole hackers can use as a door to gain access for their nefarious activities.
An exploit is a method used by the hacker to break into your website from a vulnerable area. This method uses tools like vulnerability scanners, malware, malicious user agents, scripts and SQL injections to your database, or even psychological manipulation techniques like phishing and social engineering scams.
A hacker is like a burglar, they break into your house to steal valuable contents and often trash the place while they are in there too. A burglar will find a weak area in your home’s defences where they can enter and will use various tools and tactics to gain access. In this same way online hackers will observe your websites defences, find a security vulnerability and use exploit tools and techniques to hack your website.
Here’s a common example of this. The hacker uses a scanning tool and discovers that a contact form on the website doesn’t have proper validation and malicious code sanitation in place, the hacker can then do a SQL injection by adding malicious code snippets into the name and email fields on the form and click send, the SQL injection is then sent to your server and the hacker has gained access to your database and can take control of your website.
This is a nightmare scenario, the hacker could steal all your customer account data including payment details so they can sell it on the dark web, if you have no backups and proper disaster recovery in place, the hacker could hold access to your website for Ransome, a real messy situation. This is why you must put website security as a top priority when putting a website online.
Here's Merlin's top 6 website security tips to make your website secure
You can secure your website by following website security best practices such as:
- Use a website firewall.
- Always use the latest version of website CMS, plugins, themes and third-party services.
- Maintaining and enforcing strong passwords.
- Install scanning and monitoring tools to ensure integrity of your website.
- Install SSL certificates to encrypt data.
- Maintain regular website and database backups.
Here at Merlin’s Web we’re on a quest to make the internet and your website a safer place, that’s why we are currently offering all new customers free website security WAF, (web application firewall) and malware scanner with DDoS and brute force protection, plus free SSL with your web hosting, this way your website and visitors won’t fall victim to online cybercriminals.
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