There was a time when ordinary websites need not have any worry about hackers as it seemed like they mostly focused on vulnerabilities in network and operating systems. Those did some major damages and they still happen this day, but we also have hacking attacks on ordinary websites now as they’ve realized how much they can get, even on the simplest of website.
Even if you think that there’s nothing valuable on your website, it doesn’t make you an exception. WordPress hacking has become common, so it needs to be secured. Hacking can result in a range of problems, from being quite an annoyance to identity theft and businesses that are dependent on their online presence being destroyed. A lot of personal and financial information get transferred online. That is why online security is something you can’t ignore for long.
Spam, Bots, and Viruses
Most people take it for granted due to not being aware of the risks and consequences, as well as thinking that hackers wouldn’t waste their time on small fry when there’s bigger fish out there. With automated tools and advanced techniques, hackers can indeed waste more time finding vulnerable sites like yours and it’ll take no time to break. Therefore, website security is nothing to be lazy about.
Spam, bots, and viruses are just some of the ways hackers use to attack various targets. These are automated tools that hackers prefer to use as it saves them time and lets them get more done. It gives them a better return on investment by letting them cover more ground and taking on less risks. Most attacks don’t target specific individuals, but picking vulnerabilities from the masses through a general selection criteria.
Identity Theft and SQL Injections
Stealing personal data is one of the most common objectives among hackers as it can contain some valuable stuff, including financial information. To that end, one of the most common types of attack is what’s called an SQL injection. Through such an attack, one can get access to both financial information like credit card numbers and administrative rights to websites, the latter of which can help them gain access to more information.
SQL injections can lead to some very costly mishaps for websites. Large organizations have been victims of them, leading to millions of dollars in losses. If they can do that to the big fish, then they can destry the small businesses as well, enough to shatter dreams and dash aspirations.
Business Sabotage and Legal Troubles
You have to understand that a lot of these attacks are after businesses that make a good bit of their revenue from their online presence. They are gold mines when it comes to personal information, so they aim for vulnerabilities in websites of businesses that don’t know any better. Business logic attacks are a big part of that, looking rather inconspicuous to the untrained eye but actually yield serious ramifications for businesses when it’s too late to stop them.
Some of the most common forms of such attacks are comment spam. Do you think those peculiar looking comments with the suspicious links in them are benign and slightly annoying? Think again, because they can lead people to bogus sites that install malware in machines. When your website gets marked for leading visitors to malware, it’ll take a big hit in the rankings or even completely removed from search results, thus rendering the website a dead weight in your business.
There’s also the dreaded Distributed Denial of Service attack, or DDoS. This one is serious business and can take down websites like how artillery can bombard a designated target. It’s basically an attack wherein multiple systems flood the bandwidth or resources of a target like your website, thus crashing it and leaving it vulnerable to further attack. These are commonly done to high profile web servers such as that of banks, credit card companies, and so on. However, they can also be done against smaller websites for various reasons, including revenge, blackmail, or so on.
If an attack got a customer’s data compromised, your business can be plunged in more hot water. A lawsuit can come out of such a misfortune, giving you and your business more problems. Being able to protect your customers’ data is your responsibility, which is why the security of your website is not to be ignored at all.
The Importance of Updating Your Software
Software such as content management systems like WordPress are regularly updated for security and bug fixes, thus making them more secure while adding more features to make them even better and easier to use. It’s important that you update the software you use for your website as it can help you prevent a good number of attacks just by doing so. It also helps to read the notes on updates to be aware of what it can change in your website, including the security side of things.
The Bottom Line on Protecting Your Data
No matter how small and insignificant you think you are as a startup or small business, don’t think that hackers have nothing to gain by attacking your website. They don’t discriminate when it comes to their targets as they know they can gain something from just about any active websites. Therefore, you may not want to lower your guard just because your business is a ma-and-pa store that happens to have a website. If that website is of any use to customers, it’ll have a use for hackers as well.
Conclusion
If you had been a skeptic before, hopefully you’re a believer now when it comes to what hackers want. Website security is a very important consideration that must not be taken lightly. Prevention is always better than cure, and it’s indeed what can be the difference between you not having to worry and wallowing in sorrow due to adopting a “worry about it only when hacked” mentality.
Featured photo credit: Mobilus in Mobili via flickr.com
