Keep Hackers At Bay And Secure Your Business Website

With all you have to do in running a small business, making sure your company’s website is safe and secure may not have seemed like quite as big a deal even just a few years ago.

Fast-forward to 2016 and the rash of hacked websites over the last year or so has led many more business owners to speed up their focus on

As criminals get better versed in how to break into your site, the ability for you to prevent that in the first place is all the more important, especially from a revenue standpoint.

According to one report, the National Small Business Association claims in a 2013 survey that nearly 45 percent of all small businesses had been attacked through cyber hacks, with the average costs to those companies being some $8,700.

If those numbers do not get your attention, keep in mind that such attacks also hit you on the public relations front, potentially leading to lost business from wary consumers.

So, what steps can and should you take in order to better protect your technology, technology that quite simply keeps you in business?

To begin with, don’t leave you and your brand out in the open as a sitting duck.

How you ask do you unfortunately do that and leave your site exposed?

Among the ways:

• Unsecure site – Just as using paper shredders around the office is important so that you do not have files of your business dealings or client information being left out in the open once they are no longer of use, make sure your website info is void of falling into the wrong hands too. Your site’s firewall should be regularly checked to make sure hackers are not breaking through it, meaning you have a robust security plan in place. Be sure to update usernames and passwords for any access to your site. If you are outsourcing some of your website work to independent contractors etc. don’t give them access and then leave that access in their hands once they fulfill their commitments to you. For example, if someone is doing outside accounting work for you for the short term, it is important that you change the username and password entry information once that work is completed. Do “mock” hacking attacks on your site periodically to see just how secure the site truly is. Lastly, make sure anyone working for you does not open unknown attachments, notably in emails sent to your company. It just takes one slip-up for your server to be compromised. If that happens, your site could end up being blacklisted by Google and others, meaning your website traffic and potentially any online sales can be drastically impacted;
  
  
• Employee trust matters too – While you would like to think that all of your in-house employees can be trusted with website information, it has been shown that sometimes it is those working right under your nose who can cause the most problems for your website and your business overall. In some instances, your employees could unwittingly pass along detailed website information to someone who plans to use it for illegal means, thereby exposing your business to potential financial disruptions.

With the potential damage just one hacking episode can have for your website and your brand overall, keep hackers at bay and secure what matters most to you.