It is common for developers to pay attention to the design and functionality of a website. However, security is one of the foremost concerns while developing a website. A secure website is quite crucial to make sure that you can hold on to your clients.
The menace of hackers is constantly increasing, which makes web security the need of the hour. In this article, we will discuss five security checks that are necessary to secure your website from cyber-attacks. We trust that we are already aware of the importance of website security.
Instead, we will focus on the security checks that you must perform while putting your website together. Hiring professional web development services can automatically take care of most website security requirements.
Choose a Secure Web Hosting Service
Choosing a professional and secure web hosting server is one of the first steps to secure your website. You cannot have a safe website if the hosting service provider does not have well-managed infrastructure and services. That is why you should always compare your options before choosing a web host for your website.
Make sure you understand how well these web hosting services perform against hackers and cyber threats. You can also find out what tools they offer to protect your website and its information. Even though it may not be possible for anyone to guarantee 100% security, you can expect the following security aspects from a web hosting service provider:
- A secure Operating System (OS)
- A reliable backup and restoration facility
- Support for the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols
- Fast uptime
- Malware detection and protection
- Mitigation of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks
- Firewall application
Ensure Connection Encryption and Secure User Logins
After choosing a secure web host service provider, you should ensure that all your connections are encrypted. It is crucial if your website has any forms for registrations or transactions.
As we mentioned above, using an SSL certificate for your website is a good place to start. However, you can add more security to your website by implementing Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).
Implement a Web Application Firewall
A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is an extremely useful tool to detect and prevent cyberattacks, especially from automatic hacking bots. WAF monitors the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which can be significantly more vulnerable to cyber attacks than HTTPS traffic.
A reliable WAF or a similar firewall tool can effectively reduce the chances of common cyber attacks, such as SQL injections, Malware attacks, Ransomware attacks, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and others.
Secure Your Database
An insecure database can make any website susceptible to hacks and cybercrimes. Naturally, you would store a lot of information about your business and clients on the website server. However, you should always ensure that the data you store is necessary to carry out your business activities.
So, clear out any excessive and sensitive data, such as card details, email addresses, phone numbers, or any other sensitive data that you do not need. Also, make sure that you use encryption services like Amazon’s AWS Aurora to secure any sensitive information that you store on your website server.
Try Hacking Your Own Site
Once you have taken all the necessary steps to secure your website, try to hack it yourself. Trying to hack your own website is a form of a self-audit to see how your precautionary methods work against human or bot cyber attackers. You can begin with a penetration test in which you attempt to hack into your APIs and servers.
You can also ask other trusted developers or data users to participate in testing your web security efforts. Look for a detailed Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) checklist to learn more ways to test your website security. Source
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