Sometimes, you may think your website has nothing worth being hacked for, but websites are compromised all the time. If you might be thinking that, hackers are hacking your website to steal your data or mess with your website layout. But no, you are partially wrong here. They hack your website to use your server as an email relay for spam or to set up a temporary web server. Apart from this, abuse of compromised machines include using your servers as part of a botnet, or to mine for Bitcoins. You could even be hit by ransomware.
So, there are many reasons where you could protect your website from hackers. And if you own an eCommerce site then you would probably have already faced a hacking attempt. Even, hackers would target a simple website and you would not even guess the reason. You definitely need website security.
Why Do Hackers Hack Websites?
Hackers hack websites to:
- Deface your website
- Steal data from your website - user database, financial information, and other proprietary information.
- Malicious software could fetch the credit card details in real-time.
- Use your server to relay webmail spam and to mine for Bitcoins.
- Use your server to serve illegal files.
- Hold your website to ransom
- Use your server as part of a botnet for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
As a renowned web development company, we are going to explain the top tips to ensure you are keeping yourself and your website safe while online.
1) Keep Your Software Up to Date
Software updation may seem obvious to some, but the importance cannot be neglected. It’s essential to keep all your software up to date in order to keep your site secure. This applies to both the server operating system as well as any software that may be running from within the website, including CMS and forum. Hackers can quickly abuse any security holes that may be found in software.
If you are using managed hosting solutions, you don’t need to worry about applying the important security updates, as the hosting provider will do this on your behalf.
However, if you are using third-party software on your website, it’s equally important to make quick work of applying security patches. Most vendors have a mailing list or RSS feed that can clearly detail any website security issues, and most make you aware of any issues immediately upon logging in.
2) SQL Injection
SQL injection attacks are used when the hacker uses a web form field or URL parameter to gain access or to manipulate your database. When you use standard Transact SQL, it’s easy to insert rogue code into your query for attackers that are used to change tables, obtain information and delete important data. You can easily prevent this issue by using parameterised queries, and most web languages have this feature and it’s easy to implement.
The query:
"SELECT * FROM table WHERE column = '" + parameter + "';"
If an attacker changed the URL parameter to pass in ' or '1'='1 this will cause the query to look like this:
"SELECT * FROM table WHERE column = '' OR '1'='1';"
Since '1' is equal to '1' this will allow the attacker to add an additional query to the end of the SQL statement which will also be executed.
You could fix this query by explicitly parameterising it. For example, if you're using MySQLi in PHP this should become:
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM table WHERE column = :value');
$stmt->execute(array('value' => $parameter));
3) Protect Against XSS Attacks
XSS or cross-scripting is when a hacker tries to pass JavaScript or another scripting code into a web form in order to run malicious code for visitors to your website. When you create a form, it’s important to always double-check the data being submitted, as well as strip out or encode any HTML.
4) Beware of Error Messages
Be careful with how much information you share in your error messages. Try to provide only minimal errors to your users, ensuring they don’t leak secrets present on your servers like API keys or database passwords.
Don’t give away full exception details either, as these can make complex attacks like SQL injection far easier. Keep those detailed errors in your server logs, and show users only the information they need.
5) Server Side Validation
Validation is good when it’s done both on the server-side and browser side. The browser can catch simple failure such as empty mandatory fields, however, these can be bypassed and you should make sure that these validations are checked, as well as the deeper server-side validations as failing to do so could lead to malicious code or scripting code being inserted into the database, or experiencing undesirable results on your website.
6) Use a Secure Password
Everyone is aware that they should use complex passwords, but they hardly implement it. It’s always advisable and crucial to use strong passwords to your server and website admin area. But it’s also important for your users to use the complex password to protect the data and enhance the security of their accounts.
Password practices should be enforced that require eight characters minimum, and include at least one numerical digital as well as one uppercase letter for better protection.
Passwords should always be stored as encrypted values, preferably with a one-way hashing algorithm such as SHA. If you are using salted passwords, it makes it even more difficult to hack for hackers, slowing the process considerably and making it quite expensive to execute
7) Install SSL Certificate
In simple terms, SSL means Secure Socket Layer. It’s used to transform the data between your website and users in a safe manner. For example, when a customer shares credit card information and personal contact data, SSL will encrypt the data so hackers cannot read it even if they get their hands on such personal and sensitive information.
Once you install an SSL certificate, your site will move from HTTP to HTTPS. There will be an appearance of a padlock in the address bar.
You can get an SSL certificate for your website from your hosting provider or SSL provider online. This will ensure the data of your user will be safe and encrypted from getting hacked.
Conclusion
The internet and technologies are constantly evolving.and what works now may not be equally effective tomorrow. Hence, to secure your website requires a constant task that never stops. It involves constantly keeping an eye on your websites for vulnerabilities and addressing them as they emerge. While they will not let you protect your website from hackers, but minimize the risk of getting hacked.
As a versatile web development company, The One Technologies is not only responsible for providing the design and development of a website or app but also capable of integrating the security patches and protecting your website from hackers. Let me know how you tackle your website security in the comment section or get in touch with us for more information.
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