15 Best Practices To Protect Your Website From Malware & Cyber-Hacking

As hackers grow faster, more numerous, and more effective, many companies are struggling to protect their websites from cyber threats. Statistics do not lie:

• More than 370,000 new malicious files are detected every day
• There were 1,188,728,339 known computer attacks in 2018
• Losses to businesses from cybercrime are projected to reach $ 6 trillion by 2021
• Global spending on cybersecurity is estimated to exceed $ 1 trillion between 2017 and 2021

These surprising statistics make it clear why companies prioritize website security. There are various types of cyber attacks and malicious programs. Viruses and Worms, Trojan Programs, Suspicious Packers, Malicious Tools, Adware, Malware, Ransomware, Service Refusal, Phishing, Cross-Site Scripting (SQL Injection), Brut Force Password Attacks: Understanding each IT section is important. , And session hijacking. When these cyberbullying attempts are successful (which often happens), the following can happen:

• Website Distortion – Unwanted content placed on your website
• Websites took offline (your site is down)
• Data was stolen from websites, databases, economies, etc.
• Data is encrypted and stored for ransomware (ransomware attack)
• Server Abuse – Relay webmail spam to provide illegal files
• Part of a server abuse-distributed denial-service attack
• Server abuse for bitcoin and so on.

15 Best Practices to Protect Your Website From Malware & Cyber-Hacking

While some attacks only exhibit minor threats such as a slow website, many attacks can lead to serious consequences such as serious secret data theft or indefinite website failure due to ransomware. With this in mind, here are 15 best practices that your IT department should take advantage of to protect your organization from malware and cyber hacking.

1. Update your software

It is important that you update your operating system, general applications, anti-malware, and website protection software programs with the latest patches and definitions. If your website is hosted by a third party, make sure your host is reputable and keeps their software up to date.

2. Protect against cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

By including malicious JavaScript in your coding, hackers can steal credentials and log in to cookies when you select or register them. Install firewalls and protect your pages from active JavaScript injection. Learn about web design and development.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks are a form of injection in which malicious scripts are injected into harmless and trusted websites. XSS attacks usually occur when an attacker uses a web application to send malicious code to another end user in the form of a browser-side script. The vulnerabilities that allow these attacks to be successful are widespread and the web application uses the user input in the output that it produces without verifying or encoding it.

Attackers can use XSS to send malicious scripts to an unknown user. There is no way to know if the end-user does not trust the browser script and executes the script. Because the script is thought to be from a trusted source, the malicious script may access any cookie, session token, or other sensitive information contained in that browser and used by that site. These scripts can rewrite the content of an HTML page. For more information about the different types of XSS errors

3. Protect against SQL attacks.

SQL injection is a web security vulnerability that allows an attacker to interfere with the queries that an application makes to its database. It generally allows an attacker to view data that they are not normally able to retrieve. This might include data belonging to other users, or any other data that the application itself is able to access. In many cases, an attacker can modify or delete this data, causing persistent changes to the application’s content or behavior.

In some situations, an attacker can escalate an SQL injection attack to compromise the underlying server or other back-end infrastructure or perform a denial-of-service attack.

A successful SQL injection attack can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, such as passwords, credit card details, or personal user information. Many high-profile data breaches in recent years have been the result of SQL injection attacks, leading to reputational damage and regulatory fines. In some cases, an attacker can obtain a persistent backdoor into an organization’s systems, leading to a long-term compromise that can go unnoticed for an extended period.

To protect yourself from hackers who insert fake code into your site, you should always use parameterized queries and avoid standard transaction SQL. Learn about XML sitemap.

4. Use Two-factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor verification (2FA), sometimes called two-step verification or dual-factor authentication, is a security process that provides users with two different authentication factors to verify themselves.

2FA is implemented to better protect both user credentials and user-accessible resources. Two-factor authentication provides a higher level of security than authentication methods based on single-factor authentication (SFA), in which the user provides only one factor — usually a password or a passcode. Two-factor authentication methods depend on the user providing the password as the first and second, unique factor – usually a security token or a biometric factor such as a fingerprint or ****** scan.

Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to the authentication process, making it harder for attackers to gain access to a person’s devices or online accounts, even if the victim’s password is hacked, only one password is used. Not enough to pass certification. 

5. Do not allow file uploads on your website

Some businesses require users to upload files or images to their servers. This poses a significant security risk as hackers can upload malicious content that compromises your website. Remove executable permissions for files and find another way for users to share information and images. The file or pdf uploads may contain malicious or spammy links which may severely affect your site performance.

6. Maintain a strong firewall.

A firewall is a network security tool that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic and decides whether to allow or block specific traffic based on defined security rules.

Firewalls have been the first defense in network security for over 27 years. They create a barrier between trusted secure and controlled internal networks and external networks such as the unreliable Internet.

Firewall can be hardware, software, or both.

Firewalls have evolved beyond simple packet filtering and stateful inspection. Many companies are implementing next-generation firewalls to prevent advanced threats, such as advanced malware and application-layer attacks.

Gartner, Inc. By definition, the next-generation firewall should include:

• Standard firewall capabilities such as stateful inspection
• Integrated intrusion prevention
• Application awareness and control to view and block malicious apps
• Upgrade the way to include future information feeds
• Emerging security threat technology
• While these capabilities have become the norm for most companies, NGFW can do more.

 Use a strong firewall and limit external access to ports 80 and 443 only. 

7. Manage a dedicated database server

Have dedicated servers for your data and web servers to better protect your digital assets. the dedicated database server also benefits say if Your one server is attacked and the database information is stolen or erased. But if You have dedicated storage this will help to protect another database that was hosted on another server.

8. Run the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol

Always buy an SSL certificate that maintains a trusted environment. SSL certificates build a trust foundation for your website by establishing a secure and encrypted connection. This protects your site from fraudulent servers.

All websites require SSL certification, not just websites that sell products. If you are a website owner, you will need an SSL certificate for your website. It’s that easy. Having an SSL certificate is no longer an option, it is a requirement.

There are several benefits to having an SSL certificate. Among them are:

• SSL protects sensitive information.
• SSL verifies your business identity and improves customer loyalty.
• Improved search engine ranking.
• SSL helps you meet PCI/DSS requirements.

9. Set up the password policy

Implement strict password policies and make sure they are followed. Educate all users on the importance of strong passwords. In short, all passwords must meet these criteria:

• Length at least 8 characters 
• At least one uppercase letter, one digit, and one special letter
• Do not use words that appear in the dictionary
• The higher the password, the stronger the security of the website.

10. Use Website Security Tools

Internet security requires website security tools. There are both free and paid options. In addition to software, there are software-as-a-service (SaaS) models that provide comprehensive website security tools. Also, learn about redirect errors.

11. Create a hack response plan

Security systems are sometimes advertised despite the best security efforts. If this happens, you should implement a response plan for your IT support staff that includes audit logs, server backups, and contact information.

A cybersecurity event response plan is a document that instructs IT and cybersecurity professionals to respond to a serious security event such as data breach, data leak, ransomware attack, or loss of sensitive information. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the most effective event response plans consist of four stages: preparation; Identification and analysis; Prevention, eradication, and restoration; And post-event activity.

12. Set up a backend activity log system

To trace the entry point for a malware event, make sure you are tracking and logging relevant data such as login attempts, page updates, coding changes, and plugin updates and installations. Learn about CMS from here.

13. Maintain a file-secure backup plan

Your data should be backed up regularly depending on how often it is updated. Ideally daily, weekly and monthly backups are available. Create an appropriate disaster recovery plan for your business type and size. Make sure you save a copy of your backups locally and offsite (many good cloud-based solutions are available), so you can quickly retrieve the unmodified version of your data.

The main advantage of securing a file with a backup is that information on a website can be restored in case of a cyber attack. So make sure to create a backup of Your website from time to time.

14. Train your staff

It is essential to train everyone on the policies and procedures designed by your company to protect your website and data and prevent cyber attacks. An employee must click on the malicious file to create the possibility of a breach. Make sure everyone understands the response plan and has an easily accessible copy.

15. Make sure your partners and vendors are safe

Your business can share data and access with multiple partners and vendors. This is another potential source of the violation. Make sure your partners and vendors adopt the best practices for your web security to help protect your website and data. This can be done using your own audit process or you can become a member of the software security companies that provide this service.

Even high-end computer systems can be quickly downgraded by advanced malware. Do not procrastinate in implementing the above defense strategies. Consider investing in cyber insurance to protect your organization in the event of a serious breach. Securing your website from hacking and cyber-attacks is an important part of keeping your website and your business safe.

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