Website security is a broad topic dealing with how one keeps their website safe, safe from exposure of sensitive data, interruption of service, corruption of data, defacement. Good website security includes following things
Access Control
This allow you to control who can access your website and what they can do while using it. Mechanism for controlling access your website include:
- Require users to authentication using at password, security token, certificate, etc.
- Blocking access from suspicious IP addresses
- Require the use of a security token
Encryption
Logging
- Make to keep the logs from your website so you can look for suspicious active Keep and audit trail specific events like success or unsuccessful login attempts
Disposal of Data
- Make sure backups are stored securely
- Make sure to destroy paperwork, backup media, and hard drives after they are no longer needed.
Continuously Test the security of your site
- Periodically run a vulnerability scanner on your site
- Have a penetration test performed on your system.
Restrict network access to website
- Use a firewall limit access to your network
- Use an Intrusion Detection System to watch for suspicious activity on your system
Online website security is critical to keeping a website safe from exposure of sensitive customer information, interruption of service, corruption of data, and defacement, as well as from many other threats. Good website security includes following precautions:
Access Control
Access control allows an organization to control who can access the website and what each individual who accesses the website can do while using it. Mechanisms for controlling access to a website include:
- Requiring users to authenticate by using passwords, security tokens, certificates, and other access control tools.
- Blocking access from suspicious IP addresses. Web security specialists find suspicious IP addresses on domain name server blacklists of known spammers or network attackers.
- Requiring the use of a security tokens
Encryption
Encryption is the act of encoding data so that it cannot be used or understood by outside parties. Encryption is an important part of website security as an organization and its customers often need to exchange sensitive data such as credit card numbers or billing addresses without exposing the data to hackers and identify thieves. At minimum, a secure website should do the following to protect their customers’ information and gain customer trust:
- Encrypt sensitive data when transferring such data between the website and its users. HTTPS is the most common method of encrypting transmissions.
- Store sensitive customer data such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and addresses on encrypted file systems or databases.
- Never store passwords in clear text or in an easily reversible hash.
Logging
Web application logging allows the organization to collect data on website activity and use this data to identify possible security violations, hostile attacks, or suspicious customer transactions. Web sites should do the following:
- Keep logs from the website to identify suspicious activity.
- Keep an audit trail of specific events such as unsuccessful login attempts.
Disposal of Data
To ensure website security, organizations need to organize and dispose of data in the following ways:- Store backups securely.
- Destroy paperwork, backup media, and hard drives after they are no longer needed.
Continuous Vulnerability Scanning
- Run an automated daily vulnerability scanner on the website
- Periodically perform a penetration test on the system—this is a sanctioned “attack” by a web security specialist who will look for vulnerabilities commonly used by hackers or other malicious forces.
Restriction of Network Access to Website
- Use a firewall limit access to the network
- Use an intrusion detection system to watch for suspicious activity on the system
Learn more about using our daily vulnerability scanning service to protect your website