If you’re a business owner with a website, online security is paramount. Whether you’re a lone webmaster or an established business, there are things you must do to keep yourself and your customers safe. This means safeguarding their data and even their finances, if necessary.
Here’s a primer on how you can turn your website into a digital vault, with examples from those who do it best.
The Importance Of Online Protection
When taking online security seriously, it helps to look at the pros.
Banking and iGaming are great examples. Banking apps keep sensitive information behind multiple codes and checks. Similarly, webpages like Paddy Power’s online slots have ironclad cybersecurity that stops malicious actors in their tracks.
Of course, these are large industries that are at the top of their game.
Smaller businesses often don’t have the same level of protection, but they should definitely follow their example. They are attacked 350% more than large companies, according to this report by Barracuda Networks.
Considering this information, what can smaller businesses do to keep their customers protected? The truth is – cybersecurity is a button press away.
Customer Protection Methods
Password Protection
First, reinforce your business passwords. 2FA, or two-factor authentication, should be used by everybody. This is where you need another device to log into your accounts, like a code sent to your phone or a disconnected account.
Protect Money Pages
Next, make sure all of your online store pages are running SSL. When your site has an SSL certificate, it has an extra layer of protection represented by “https” instead of just “http”, and a padlock symbol. You also need a firewall. They come with many anti-virus applications, and free versions still provide a great amount of protection.
Encrypt Everything
Customers’ Personally Identifiable Information (PII) should be encrypted. This is a standard set by most companies online, even ones where the data stored isn’t that important. Pursue encryption protocols like AES or RSA. Business-related devices should be encrypted too, through OS-proprietary services like BitLocker or FileVault. This will protect PII data even if the password gets cracked.
Attack Your Business
The best way to improve your security is to put it to the test. It may sound strange, but this means you need to attack it yourself.
In fact, penetration testing is very important in cybersecurity. Good actors are paid to try and crack your business. If they succeed, they’ll do no harm and instead report back vulnerabilities that you need to fix. Leading CDN Cloudflare explains pen testing here.
Automated pen testing software is available for businesses on a budget. It performs similar tests to a human, but remember, hackers are human and computerized programs might not account for human ingenuity.
Conclusion
These are the main methods used by online businesses to protect their customers. There’s always a better security option out there, but following these, you should have most threats covered.
Nobody wants to have a bad reputation, especially when it comes to securing your customer’s data and banking details. Companies live or die based on their security rep, so protecting customers is good for business.
