Focussing on website security is one of the key reasons to ensure that your business website is secured against cyber-security threats. Read on to know how to secure the business websites…
Websites are vulnerable to cyber-attacks than can happen for a number of reasons, including insecure user access to a website, lack of security monitoring, or not having appropriate maintenance procedures in place. Most of the cyber-attacks on websites are automated, which means that pin pointing the attackers is a challenge by itself. Cyber-attacks on targeted websites by bots are generally based on known vulnerabilities. This means that if your website is not secure, it’s only a matter of time before it could be breached.
A research study from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has reported that less than three in ten businesses — 27%, versus 33% in the previous 2017 survey report — have a formal cyber-security policy in place. Without adequate maintenance and security protection, websites are vulnerable to cyber-attacks and hacking. As well as this, poorly maintained sites typically experience decreased user trust and therefore reduced site traffic, resulting in lower impact and income.
Repercussions
Automated bots are constantly searching the Internet for insecure websites with security weaknesses and if a website is hacked or infected, customer data and payment information could be at risk and sites could also be completely vandalized. Hence, it’s imperative for businesses to consider the implications of a cyber-attack on the business website. Data theft, extortion and vandalism could tarnish the business reputation. Not only can cyber-attacks compromise the security of businesses’ websites and data, but they can also prove to be costly in terms of financial and data loss. In some instances, cyber-attacks can cost up millions of dollars for large businesses, which can have significant financial implications.
These reasons are just sufficient why it’s important to undertake regular website maintenance and consider putting extra site security measures in place.
Securing Website
The benefits of improving cyber-security of business websites are enormous. With businesses relying heavily on website traffic to reach new customers and get sales, just one security breach could have hugely negative effects on the business and result in a lack of customer trust.
Increasing website maintenance and improving site security helps you gain confidence from customers and site visitors. It also stops your website from going down at crucial times, protects customer data, and helps ensure that employees are working safely and securely.
For businesses, proactivity is key when it comes to staying on top of web-security. By regularly making security improvements and keeping websites optimised through continuous maintenance, organizations can save money and secure their websites from malware, hacking and defacements.
Websites with old and outdated content or slow page speeds are penalised by search engines like Google and rank lower in the search results. Hence, website maintenance to boost cyber-security has the additional benefits of improving search engine rankings and increasing website traffic.
The Road Ahead
When it comes to ensuring that websites are secured, the basic step is to start with maintenance checks which strengthen the website. If websites aren’t being consistently patched and updated, they’re more susceptible to security threats.
There are several checks to ensure that business websites are secure against threats from potential hackers. These include updating site software, patching vulnerabilities, and making regular website back-ups.
Investing time in ongoing website maintenance is a key way to ensure that business websites are secure against cyber-security threats.