8 Steps to Solid Website Security
You’ve launched your dream business into the world via a website you’ve invested much time and money in. It encapsulates your vision and values, holds all the content you’ve worked hard on and is the place your client goes to purchase your products and services. Most importantly it holds your customer database, which, if compromised could not only massively affect your income, but shatter your reputation. For these reasons and more, you need to prioritise protecting your site, just as you would a physical store or office. How do we do that in the digital world? Read on!
1. Use HTTPS
HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent between your browser and the website you are connected to. It means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted, which ensures that all data transferred remains private and integral.
To enable HTTPS, you need to get an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate. The SSL certificate also provides authentication, ensuring that you are sending information to the right server and not to an imposter trying to steal your information. Many hosting providers such as Squarespace offer SSL certificates, otheriwise you can get one from a certificate authority.
2. Keep Your Software Up-to-Date
Whether it's your server operating system or the software your website runs on, such as a CMS (Content Management System) or other third-party software, it’s crucial to always run the latest version. Every new update often includes security patches for known vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit. Failing to update your software is like leaving your door open for cybercriminals.
3. Use Strong Passwords and Change Them Regularly
Passwords are your first line of defense against unauthorized access. The stronger and more unpredictable your password, the harder it is for cybercriminals to crack it. Ensure that all your passwords, including those for your website admin area, FTP accounts, and database, are strong and hard to guess. They should be a mix of alphanumeric characters and symbols.
Also, change your passwords regularly and avoid re-using passwords for different accounts. Never send passwords via email or text message. Read this blog for more on picking the perfect password.
4. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF)
A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is a protective shield that sits between your website server and the data connection, reading every bit of data that passes through it. By installing a WAF, you can monitor your site's traffic in real-time, and it helps to protect your site from hackers by filtering out malicious traffic. It can protect your website from various threats such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) threats.
5. Regularly Backup Your Data
Regular backups are a critical part of maintaining website security. If your site is compromised, rolling back to a previous version can often be the quickest way to resolve the issue. Make sure you're making regular backups of your data and storing them securely. This way, even if your data is lost or compromised, you can restore your website to its previous state. It is advisable to store backups in multiple locations, including cloud storage.
6. Manage Access Properly
Think carefully about who has access to editing your website and remove it when it’s no longer necessary. This might be old designers, past members of staff or friends and partners that helped you out. Keep access tight and alleviate any doubt in anyone, should disaster strike.
The next steps are unavoidably a little technical but worth looking into or raising with your hosting provider / web designer.
7. Protection against SQL Injection
SQL injection is a code injection technique that attackers use to insert malicious SQL code into a query. The attacker can use this to gain unauthorized access to your database, view, modify, and delete records in your database.
To prevent SQL injection, always use parameterized queries or prepared statements. This ensures that your code has specific enough parameters, so nothing harmful becomes a part of the query. It’s a simple step that can save you from a serious data breach.
8. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Protection
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks occur when an attacker uses a web application to send malicious code, generally in the form of a browser side script, to a different end user. The end user’s browser has no way to know that the script should not be trusted, and will execute the script, which can lead to user data theft, account tampering, or defacement of your website.
To prevent this, ensure that any user input is properly validated and sanitized. This means that you should check all input data to ensure it is of the correct type, length, format, and range. Your website hosting provider should be able to advise further.
In conclusion, website security is an ongoing process. With the ever-evolving nature of cyber threats, it's important to stay up-to-date with the latest security measures and regularly review and update your security practices. Your website is a valuable asset; protecting it should be a top priority.