Cyber Security & your website.
Cyber Security.
The internet is a great resource, it can help you solve problems, sell your business or simply entertain you.
What is the internet?
The simple answer is it’s a massive network of computers that can all talk to each other. The danger with this massive network is some of these computers are a little too trusting, or use old technology to give/receive information and are susceptible to attack.
Why would people want to attack your website?
There are many reasons but most of it stems around money, That message you receive in your email offering medical supplies or sunglasses did not come from the owner of the shop selling the goods. The chances are it was sent from a hacked website on behalf of the owner using a commission code. Each click or purchase on the website link pays the hacker a small amount of money. The more clicks / purchases the more money they receive so it is in the hackers interested to send to as many people as possible.
How is my website hacked?
Any CMS system, WordPress / Joomla etc. use a database to hold all the content of the pages within your website. In most cases the database is attacked but attacks can be against insecure or out of date plugins.
What are the chances of my site being hacked?
Your site is just 1 of the billion or so sites on the internet or unless you are targeted specifically or are very unlucky the chances are low. But you can decrease these odds even further using the methods below.
- Update your CMS to the latest version. (Versions often close holes which hackers take advantage of.)
- Update 3rd Party plugins (Again versions often close holes)
- Install firewall plugin (There are several Firewall plugins which attempt to stop attacks, You may need to employ your favoured IT Support company to do this for you as it can be a little daunting)
- Repeat Steps 1 & 2 as often as you can.
Paul Sparey
Director
Python IT Ltd