Website security and cyberthreats

Websites have been vulnerable to security threats for as long as the Internet has existed. Falling victim to these threats endangers your website traffic, puts your customers and your data at risk, and can potentially cost you your brand reputation. Moreover, fixing the issues caused can be time-consuming and costly.

While it’s tempting to believe that only high-profile websites are targeted, the fact is that most malware and viruses are automated and ready to exploit any vulnerable sites, big or small. Thankfully, attacks can often be prevented with an effective website security policy.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the most common website security threats and how you can mitigate them.

Understanding web security and threats

Web security includes all the measures and practices that are dedicated to safeguarding digital environments, including computers, networks, servers, and mobile devices, from the wide range of existing cyber threats.

Websites are the digital face for many private individuals as well as ecommerce businesses, and they are often the primary platform for interaction, commerce, and communication with customers and stakeholders. As such, ensuring website security is particularly important for protecting sensitive information, maintaining trust, and upholding business reputation.

Effective website security measures you can take will include assessing and monitoring risks. You can start by being familiar with the variety of cybersecurity threats that exist and what aspects of a website they target.

Common website security threats

Cyberattacks pose a significant threat to businesses. Malicious actors use them to disrupt regular operations, steal sensitive data, engage in espionage, or destroy businesses’ reputations, among other aims.

To reach these goals, they employ a variety of tactics to exploit vulnerabilities and wreak havoc on websites and their owners. Let’s look at different tactics used by bad actors and how they utilise website infrastructure to carry out their damage.

Malware and viruses

Malware is short for ‘malicious software’, and it’s a catch-all term for any software that has been designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorised access to a system. Malware can spread in many ways, from plugging in infected USB drives to accidental downloads from infected websites. Viruses, spyware and ‘worms’ are typically included in the definition of malware.

Denial-of-Service attack

A Denial-of-Service attack is where an attacker uses a program to send multiple false requests to your server. This makes the server believe that you have so many visitors on your website that it can’t handle all the traffic. Overwhelmed, the website being attacked goes down.

In Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, the traffic comes from multiple sources, making it significantly more challenging to find the source and stop the attack.

Brute force attacks

In a brute force attack, an attacker will try to break into sensitive data by using automated software to systematically attempt various combinations of usernames and passwords until the correct credentials are discovered. This method relies on the sheer volume of attempts rather than exploiting vulnerabilities in the system.

Phishing

Phishing is a tactic that uses email to trick individuals into giving away sensitive information such as their passwords and financial details. Phishing emails often imitate legitimate communications from trusted entities, such as banks, government agencies, or recognisable companies. These emails generally contain urgent requests or offers to trick recipients into clicking on malicious links or downloading risky attachments.

SQL injection

An SQL injection occurs when a website form fails to properly protect against various special characters and commands, which allows the attacker to manipulate the underlying SQL queries being executed by the website’s database. This vulnerability can be exploited to access, modify, or delete sensitive data stored in the database.

By injecting malicious SQL code into input fields, attackers can get around authentication mechanisms and find confidential information or even execute random commands on the server.

Cross-site scripting

Cross-site Scripting (shortened to XSS) attacks are where bad actors execute malicious scripts into the webpages of a victim. These scripts help the attacker bypass security features, gaining access to and control over a website. The attack is typically triggered by the victim visiting a compromised page or app.

These types of attacks often put the users of the website directly in the crosshairs of the attacker, although they can also be used to damage or deface the attacked website directly.

Ransomware attacks

Ransomware is malicious code that blocks a website owner from accessing their own website until a ransom is paid. With ransomware, the attacker essentially keeps the website hostage and forces the victim to either pay up an extortionate sum or risk losing access to critical data.

Ransomware victims also run the risk of the attacker not holding up their end of the bargain and restoring access to their site, even if the ransom is paid in full.

Man-in-the-middle attacks

A man-in-the-middle attack is one where a third-party intercepts messages between two entities that believe they are communicating with each other, for example, an end-user browser and a web server. This form of attack can be seen as digital eavesdropping, where the attacker sneakily gets access to critical, private data.

The diversity of cyberattacks can feel overwhelming, but fortunately there are steps you can take to prevent falling victim to these malicious actions. In the next section, we will look at best practices for website security.

Best practices for website security

Considering these ever-present threats, implementing solid security measures is vital for keeping your website and other digital assets secure. Let’s explore best practices to mitigate the risk of cyber threats.

A secure hosting provider

Choosing a reliable hosting provider is the foundation of a secure website. A good hosting company, such as one.com, ensures robust server infrastructure, proactive security measures, and reliable backups, which helps reduce the risk of downtime and data breaches.

SSL Website Certificate

An SSL (short for Secure Sockets Layer) certificate is vital in ensuring the security of the data that gets transmitted between a user’s browser and your website.

When a user accesses a website protected by an SSL certificate, their browser establishes a secure connection with the website’s server using encryption algorithms. This encryption prevents unauthorised parties from figuring out the data transmitted between the user and the website, which helps reduce the risk of man-in-the-middle attacks, data tampering, and other types of cyberattacks.

SSL certificates help protect the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information exchanged during online interactions. Learn more about the significance of SSL certificates in our article about SSL.

Importance of HTTPS

HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It’s a website encryption protocol and another key component in website security. It uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt data by creating two virtual keys, one private and one public. Both keys are required to gain access to the original data.

Without HTTPS encryption, data transmitted over unsecured HTTP connections is vulnerable to interception and exploitation, potentially exposing users to cyberthreats.

Regular software updates

Maintaining the security of your website requires a proactive approach. Part of this is ensuring you’re regularly updating your software, as software updates provide patches for known vulnerabilities and addressing security weaknesses in your website’s software stack.

Cyber attackers are constantly evolving their tactics and techniques to exploit weaknesses in popular software platforms, content management systems (CMS), plugins, and other parts of the digital ecosystem. By promptly applying software updates, you can reduce the risk of falling victim to these attacks and protect your digital assets from becoming compromised.

Keep your files backed up

Backups serve as a critical insurance policy against a variety of threats, including ransomware attacks, hardware failures, software errors, and simple human error. By keeping up-to-date backups of your website, you can minimise the impact of incidents and reduce the risk of data loss or prolonged downtime.

With one.com, you get daily backups of your data. You can also get Backup & Restore functionality with our premium plans, so you can rest assured that your website’s data is protected and accessible when you need it most.

Limit personal data collection

Adopt a responsible approach to collecting and handling personal data. Limit the collection of personal data to only what is truly necessary for your business purposes. By adhering to principles of data minimisation and purpose limitation, you reduce the risk of data breaches and of running into legal compliance issues.

2FA

Implementing Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security to your website. With 2FA, users are required to verify their identity through a secondary authentication method beyond the traditional username and password combination. This secondary authentication typically takes the form of a temporary code sent to the user’s mobile device via SMS, a code generated from an authenticator app, or a biometric verification such as fingerprint or facial recognition.

SiteLock

SiteLock is a famous name in the cybersecurity sector. Its comprehensive website security solutions provide continuous monitoring, malware detection, and automated threat removal. Hosting plans at one.com provide the option to order SiteLock as an add-on. 

Website security for WordPress

WordPress powers a significant portion of the internet, making it a prime target for cyber threats. Websites built on WordPress are vulnerable to various threats, particularly through plugins and themes. These components, while adding functionality and design options, can also introduce vulnerabilities if not properly maintained or updated.

Plugins and Components

Plugins and themes extend the functionality and appearance of your WordPress website, but they can also pose security risks if not carefully vetted and managed. Limiting the number of plugins and components installed on your site reduces the potential attack surface and minimizes the risk of exploitation. Additionally, opting for premium plugins and themes from reputable developers can provide added assurance of security and reliability. Learn more about how to monitor vulnerabilities in WordPress sites in our article.

Password Protection

If you don’t need to have your entire website publicly visible, locking parts of it behind a password can be a good way to boost the security of the site. There are multiple ways to do so, ranging from built-in WordPress features to third-party plugins. By restricting access to specific areas of your website with passwords, you can limit exposure to sensitive information and reduce the risk of unauthorised access.

All one.com plans come with advanced website security features to give you peace of mind when it comes to protecting your site and email.

Strengthening your website security: key insights and checklist  

Protecting your website against online threats requires a proactive and multifaceted approach to security. From understanding different types of attacks to implementing robust security measures, as a website owner, you must prioritise the protection of your digital assets and do your best to ensure user data is kept safe.

Here’s a checklist summarising the key aspects of website security we’ve touched upon in this article:

• Regularly update website software, including core files, plugins, and themes.
• Implement HTTPS encryption and an SSL certificate to encrypt data transmission.
• Consider implementing two-factor authentication.
• For WordPress sites, limit the number of plugins and components installed on your website.
• Consider locking parts of your website behind passwords to restrict access to sensitive information.

By incorporating these measures into your security strategy, you can enhance the resilience of your website against cyber threats and maintain the trust and confidence of your users.