When you leave your house and lock the door, you expect things to remain just as you left them. For most people, “security” involves easily understandable steps. Lock the doors and windows, leave the lights on, close the shades, and so on. Website security isn’t like that. Simple changes to website software can render a “secure” website insecure overnight. It would be as if the locks on your house worked fine, but a design flaw rendered them useless.
Website security is a moving target
Unfortunately, website security isn’t a “set and forget” process. Your website security depends upon vigilance, regular maintenance and modifications to your website design. Because websites depend entirely on software, flaws in the software produce flaws in the finished product.
Unfortunately, shadowy individuals and groups spend a lot of time trying to find and exploit the flaws in software. People who discover flaws can actually sell their discoveries, called zero-day exploits, to security firms. Verified zero-day exploits affecting Apple’s IOS, for example, may command bounties of $1M or more.
Hackers can make far more money from a zero-day exploit, so they constantly look for ways to foil website security. Malefactors can install encryption software onto websites and trigger the encryption process to extort funds from the owner of the website, or the servers that store business data.
Regular website design and security maintenance are two strategies to help your business stay ahead of the bad actors. Ideally, website design is an ongoing process. Static websites lose consumer interest quickly. They don’t take advantage of newer technologies and techniques that would otherwise support your business and improve your customer service.
If you’d like more information about website security, please contact our creative director, < a href=mailto:[email protected]>Dave Ramsell or give Dave a call at (330) 243-0651 to set up a consultation. We can help you implement a secure web design strategy that puts you one step ahead of your competition.
Photo Credit: Jake Rustenhoven, via Flickr
