Thursday, October 5, 2017

Small businesses should not underestimate web security


Image source: ezsitebuilders.com

When websites receiving a huge number of visitors get hacked, it makes headlines. For example, when several government websites were hacked by ISIS weeks ago, the incidents were all over the news. The same can be said when the Equifax data breach was made known to the public earlier this month.

Because of this, many small business owners share a common misconception that their website is safe from cyberattacks. They rely on what is called “security by obscurity,” mistakenly thinking that because their website is not as popular as bigger websites, security concerns are little to none.

The unfortunate reality is that there is no such thing as “too small to hack.” Any website is prone to hacks or other forms of cyber threats.

Image source: techdonut.co.uk
Cybercriminals target websites for the following resources:

Bandwidth: A huge bandwidth is a costly commodity nowadays. Thus, cybercriminals who illegally share or distribute software online hack web servers to steal bandwidth so that they could carry on their illicit activity.

Website traffic: If a website, even if it is small, has an active comment section, cybercriminals can use it to their advantage by sending spam or stealing website traffic for their own profit.

Confidential data: One of the worst web attacks by hackers is stealing customer data, including email addresses. Small businesses have to defend their websites against this type of attack as it can lead to loss of customer trust.

SiteLock helps secure their clients’ websites by scanning for clarity, blocking ambiguity, and having frequent backups. To review the company’s services, visit its official website.