How about launching a website to present your Business digitally to the world finally?

It’s a positive approach to expand your customer reach but at the same time, it is vital to ensure that your business website is launched with the latest Security features in 2023. Putting the website on the internet is advantageous.

Still, it also comes with a few setbacks such as exposing it to hacking attempts, porting scans, giving access to data theft via data miners, and providing access to traffic sniffers. Additionally, once you have launched the website, it becomes prone to malicious cyber attacks, malware, phishing scams, and illegal cookie storage.

To prevent all such types of web application vulnerabilities it is essential to have a Secure website for your business. Go through this blog to know about the latest security features in 2023 – 

Introducing the importance of website security in 2023 

In today’s digital world, having a secure website for your business not only demonstrates its robust online presence but also is important for success.

As per the available information from verified sources, nearly 30,000 websites are hacked each day. Sounds terrifying, right?

Web security features for your business are all about developing a website that is protected from fraud, faults, and cyber attacks. It prevents computer hackers to have access to client or company data eliminating possible customer or company data loss.

To prevent these, an entrepreneur must consistently check for website security and identify its flaws for immediate corrective actions. 

Here are a few significant reasons for securing your website in 2023 – 

1. It helps to safeguard the company’s image and reputation 
2. Protects sensitive data of business and clients 
3. Assists in boosting authority and confidence in your business field 
4. Provides a robust competitive advantage over businessmen who have not upgraded to a digital presence 
5. Keeps your company information, investments, software, and other resources safe

Latest security features:

While having a secure website is a must for your business, here are some important layers that you must incorporate to ensure maximum website security – 

Opt for Sitewide SSL: Having a lock symbol before the link of your business website starts means you are using a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection. To have its full advantage and verified encrypted connections, this must be enforced on all pages and should be sitewide on your business website. Furthermore, the business owner must have access to a verified SSL certificate and notify him when its expiry date is near. The site must adhere to HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol to facilitate privacy and data encryption for communications over the internet.

Disable Insecure Cipher Suites: As per available information, most web servers still permit the default configurations that give an entry gate to insecure SSL cipher suites like RC4. While developing your website, make sure to explicitly disable them on the Apache web server so malicious viruses cannot enforce these suites and are automatically blocked by some browsers to protect your organization

Use Secure Cookies Only: With secure cookies transmission through your SSL connection, sniffing attacks on your sensitive information can be avoided to a great extent. If you fail to use this security feature for your website, it allows the third party to impersonate your cookies and it might get delivered to unencrypted connections inviting more threats to your business website

Protect against SQL Injection Attacks: By utilizing well-implemented stored procedures instead of open queries, you are safeguarding your website against SQL injection attacks. Doing this will reject improper inputs to fired queries and usually run on specific databases, thereby restricting access for all. Thus the structural practice is a must practice at the time of website development and update that is usually followed by all developers

Install Firewall & Two Factor Authentication: Adding a network firewall to your website examines the incoming and outgoing traffic on a private network as well as prevents unauthorized access to all devices connected with your company’s network. You can even ask customers to follow a two-factor authentication process to have access to your website to view the products. 2FA ensures that only company employees have access to business data from remote places 

Implement Content Security Policies: By using Content Security Policy, your website is provided with an extra layer of security as it assists to detect and mitigate certain types of malicious attacks such as data injection attacks, cross-site scripting attacks 

Protection Against Denial of Service: DoS attacks can flood your company server with constant packets leading to the prevention of response to legitimate requests. To save yourself from embarrassment because of this, it is always a good idea to utilize a cloud mitigation provider to leverage your company’s huge resources. Furthermore, the business owner can opt for an alternative mitigation in-house with certain limitations 

Regularly Check and Test Configurations: With thorough regular checkups about your website’s security features, a business owner can have a complete idea about security holes that can be exploited and have time to fix them in advance. By doing this, your team would have a streamlined workflow and follow a standard workflow process more efficiently 

Use SHA256 Encryption: By using the updated SHA256 Encryption for website development, you can have the latest modern encryption that promises more security. For this, you should check the website certificate and ensure it is replaced with a 2048-bit SHA256 certificate at the earliest

Tips for securing user data

Cybersecurity attacks and data thefts have multiplied immensely in recent times. This makes it necessary to build a secure website and include preventive security measures for maximum protection. Securing user data is a crucial part as your whole business depends on it.

Here are a few tips on how you can secure user data along with website protection and have a bright future – 

1. Collect only required and vital data instead of dumping your databases with unnecessary customer information 
2. Limit access to customer data and provide it to those who need it. This will put a constraint and lessen the vulnerability of sensitive customer information among employees. It reduces the risk of brute force attacks and even internal data abuse  
3. Use password management tool: When the employees in your business are instructed to use a password management tool for office operations, complex encryption for stored passwords provides multiple benefits – the user need not remember complex passwords every time they log in, encrypted passwords are difficult to hack and prevent misuse of business data 
4. Avoid data silos: Data silos mean storing chunks of business data at different places. Doing this increases the vulnerabilities like data loss/ misplacement and chances of data theft. When you avoid partitioning the business data and its storage at multiple locations, it provides an opportunity to have an effective data tracking plan in place for streamlining business processes which would help in data collection audits 

Real-life examples of Data Breach  

Mariott-Data Leak because of a compromised third-party app 

In the year 2020, Marriott Hotels & Resorts were greatly affected by a third-party vendor app used to provide guest services. An inside data breach from a business cost 339 million to hotel guests.

The attackers used the credentials of two employees from the hotel to have access to one of the third-party applications in the hotel’s marketing chain. As Mariott’s installed cybersecurity systems did not detect any suspicions of the malicious activity of these two employee accounts, the hackers have access to 5.2 million guest records with their personal information.

The undetected phishing attack leaked customer data including passport details, loyalty account details, contact information, birthday, gender, and even personal preferences

 LinkedIn

Professional networking and connection giant LinkedIn witnessed that the user data of 700 individuals across the world was posted on a dark web forum in June 2021 by a hacker whose monicker name was“God user”.

He made use of several data-scraping techniques to exploit the site and other APIs before dumping the first information data set of nearly 500 million customers.

This incident was termed as a violation of user services as the data breach sample posted by the monicker contained sensitive details like email address, phone number, geolocation record, gender, and other social media details that could invite further malicious attempts. This warning was given by UK’s NCSC to prevent the follow-on social engineering attacks 

Have a Checklist for A Secure Website! 

Whether you are running an e-commerce website, membership site, or content-based website for efficiently running your business, securing it appropriately is a crucial point for your business. Before you approach a website development provider company or instruct your professional to revamp the business website design, you must maintain a checklist of points that you would want in your business website. To track the website development process in regular meetups, have these points included in your checklist – 

1. Install SSL certificate 
2. Ask for regular and automated website updates from the hosting service provider or a third-party add-on 
3. Create updated and regular backups of sensitive company data 
4. Encourage the use of strong passwords and protect them with an authenticated password management tool  
5. Leverage the use of anti-malware software and security tools for company devices 
6. Conduct training sessions for employees on security, data leaks, phishing attacks, and cyber crimes 
7. Ensure protection from fraudulent activities by DoS attacks, insecure cookies, SQL injection attacks, and mandatorily required website protocols

Develop a Secure Website With A2 Consulting LLC! 

 A2 Consulting LLC is a professional software development company in Ohio that offers Website Development services at affordable prices. We aim to deliver quality software solutions that would assist our clients to build healthy business relationships with their clients. Our expert developers have the potential to understand your requirements to create a dynamic, user-friendly, and customized website to ensure enormous business profitability. Let’s set up a call to meet your demands for a secure website NOW!!