As a business owner, you already know that entering any kind of venture will never be risk-free. Each action your business takes, comes with its own repercussions whether positive or negative that you should prepare for. The same can be said about your efforts to go digital — about putting up your business online.
Creating your own business’ online presence means you are opening up your business quite literally for the entire world to see. All the information present on your website or official social media pages even if it’s just your product or service offerings or your contact details becomes vulnerable, open to different threats; cyber threats.
Now, before we can go about protecting your website and your business’ overall online presence, we should first understand the threat.
What are Cyber Threats?
There are different kinds of cyber threats, like harmful software and trick emails such as phishing attempts, as well as advanced hacking methods.
These threats can harm your website, take important information, and ruin your reputation, which is why it’s really important to know about these threats to protect your website with good security and take the necessary proactive measures on your end as well.
How can you Protect Yourself from Cyber Threats?
Use Strong Passwords
A key part of keeping your website and online presence safe is to make sure you have strong passwords for all of your accounts. Don’t use ones that are easy to figure out. Instead, mix up uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
We know having these kinds of complicated passwords aren’t the best for your memory but we’ve got you! Think about using password managers to keep your login info safe and secured without having to remember all of it at all times.
Use SSL/TLS Encryption
SSL and TLS encryption are super important for keeping data safe when it moves between your website and users’ browsers — so make sure you use these for your own website!
Have an SSL/TLS certificate installed at all times. This way, you can create a safe connection and encrypt important info like logins and payments.
Regularly Update your Software
One of the best ways to keep your website and online presence secure is to keep your website’s software up to date, like your content manager, plugins, and themes.
Outdated software is actually more vulnerable as it has no protection for advanced threats. By updating your software regularly, you keep your site secure and hard to penetrate for hackers using updated software as well. If you can set up automatic updates to stay safe from new dangers.
Do Regular Security Audits
Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments are essential to identify and address potential weaknesses in your website’s security posture. Engage security professionals or use reputable security tools to conduct comprehensive audits, ensuring that your website remains resilient against cyber threats.
Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Make it hard for hackers to get to your website in the first place! Increase your website’s login security by implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
MFA adds an extra layer of protection by requiring users to verify their identity through multiple factors, such as a one-time passcode sent to their mobile device, in addition to their password.
Regularly Backup Your Data
It’s really important to regularly back up your website’s data, just in case there’s a security problem or you lose data. Keep these backups safe, ideally in more than one place.
Also, test your backup restoration process as well to make sure you can quickly get your site back up if something goes wrong — reducing downtime should it happen.
Continuous Monitoring
By investing in monitoring tools to detect unusual activity or security breaches promptly, you can protect your website at all times.
Develop a clear incident response plan outlining steps to take in the event of a security incident, including containment, investigation, mitigation, and recovery procedures.
As your business continues to establish your online presence and connect in real-time with your audience and customers, taking these measures to always protect your website and your overall online presence does not just benefit you but your customers as well. They’ll see that you value security and that their information is safe with you, creating trust and ultimately making you their seller of choice.
Need Help with your Business’ Online Presence?
At SMRT Digital, we understand that modern problems require modern solutions and that for businesses who are starting out in today’s modern world — digital is key. With our wide range of customisable and tailored solutions, we can help your business’ market efforts and increase your digital presence, helping you drive your company’s success.
See how we do it here and schedule a consultation with us today! Let’s begin building your business’ future together!