Hackers & Coronavirus: What You Need to Know To Keep Your Site Safe

Platform Security is Fundamental

First of all, make sure that you are running on a secure site. When website-building began, companies built on proprietary software because they were able to control their own source code and keep hackers from infiltrating websites. However, as the Internet has aged, so did proprietary software. Independent developers weren’t able to keep up with updates like the businesses who were open sourced. If you’re running on outdated software it’s pivotal that you consider a website conversion. Newer platforms can be updated regularly so that content management and e-commerce technology integrates seamlessly.

Update, Update, Update

Most security attacks are automated; bots are constantly scanning every site they can for exploitation opportunities. Make sure that your WordPress Core is updated with new versions of your plugins or CMS as soon as they become available. Plugins are great; they create e-commerce options and other external tools for your websites. HOWEVER, every time you add a plugin to your site it’s like adding another door. So be knowledgeable about your plugins and update regularly as updates contain security enhancements. If you host your website with us, you never have to worry about updates because we update regularly. However, if you are hosting with another agency or independently, make sure that you aren’t running on outdated versions that pose significant risks to your security.

Build Protective Barriers

Defend your website against a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. A DDoS attack is when a hacker tries to take a website offline by sending it so much traffic, that it overwhelms your system. It’s basically a traffic jam that prevents wanted visitors from getting to your site, by overcrowding the system. When DDoS attacks take your site offline, you could be missing out on thousands of dollars of business per hour.

A DDoS protection server fights excess and unwanted traffic. Firefly Marketing uses a content delivery network (CDN) which essentially saves a recent copy of your website on multiple servers that are spread out geographically. That way, when a server is attacked, traffic is rerouted to a different server experiencing a lighter load. This system also acts as a middleman and blocks unwanted traffic from getting to your website.

We also practice server hardening, in which we implement numerous security controls. We make sure that your website follows leading industry standards when configuring servers. This includes, but is not limited to, using firewalls, SSH key pairs, and intrusion detection. These trusted practices add up to an additional layer of strengthened protection.

Backup Daily and Keep Backups Secure

According to MIT, backing up and keeping backups secure is probably one of the most important security measures you can take. Backups provide the ability to restore your website to its pre-hacked state. As always with important electronic data, backups are kept off site, separate from the originals. Therefore, in the event of something like a natural disaster your data is still safe!

Encrypt

Enforcing HTTPS and using SSL certificates encrypts data being sent to and from your site. By applying these security protocols, we are not only protecting your website, we are protecting your customers as well. These practices help keep your website safe from potentially prying eyes, like an untrustworthy public internet connection.