Debunking Website Security Myths: Are You Falling for These?

Thinking that your website is secure from any sort of cyber threat makes it easier to sleep at night.

This doesn't mean that it's true.

The Morris worm is viewed as the first cyberattack. It's 31 years old and it took 10% of the internet down in 24 hours.

But in the face of the current cybersecurity threats, the Morris worm looks like child's play. Add to that the common myths that people fall for, and you'd find your website at higher risk than normal.

So keep on reading to join us on our debunking website security myths journey, and know all about getting your website security in shape.

Your Password Is Strong

But is it though?

A simple search about password hygiene will give you contradictory advice that leads to nowhere.

However, if you kept to the basics, you'll avoid the majority of incorrect advice on the internet.

Don't use an easy password that's simple to crack and then use it for all of your accounts.

At the same time, don't use extremely complex passwords that will force you to write them on a piece of paper. This will just migrate the security risk from the online field to the offline one.

The most secure way for you to manage your passwords would be using a password generator. In addition to using it consecutively with two-factor authentication.

It can be a bit annoying, but it'll give you a much needed extra layer of protection that you can't afford to lose.

Small Businesses Are at Less Risk of Getting Hacked

This statement couldn't be more wrong.

43% of cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses. And, keeping in mind the minimal resources that are usually allocated to cybersecurity in small businesses, they tend to make for tempting targets of easy wins in the eyes of hackers.

Add to small businesses' cyber vulnerability, there is also the smaller risk of discovery on the hacker's side. 

In short, it's a small risk with big rewards on the hacker's end and very high risks of ruining your small business on your end.

When we say high risks, we mean that 60% of small business that suffer a cyber attack shuts its doors within six months of the hack.

Debunking Website External Security Superiority

The fact of the matter is that your employees are the biggest cybersecurity threat that you have.

Internal security protocols are key to keeping your vulnerable cybersecurity insides safe from harm.

Now, most of your employees won't maliciously cripple your website security. But, at the end of the day, your employees are human and they're liable to human error and carelessness.

Also, without cybersecurity training, your employees can easily fall victim to phishing schemes. And, they can easily cause enormous amounts of damage.

To avoid this glaring security risk, setting up regular cybersecurity training sessions for your employees is the way to go. It won't completely remove the risk, but it will take it down to acceptable levels.

All You Need Is Firewall and Antivirus Software

That would have —probably— been enough in the late 80s, but unfortunately, these days are long gone.

There is a reason why comprehensive web security services are becoming more popular than ever.

These services usually provide 24/7 monitoring, malware detection, and removal. And, it'll set up a Systems incident and Events Management team in case any sort of crisis arises.

All of these security elements sound scary for the uninitiated, however, if you're a small business, you'll either have to outsource or be prepared to shell out for a full-on in-house cybersecurity team.

Even a gaming server will need to have some sort of security protocol, never mind a fully-fledged business. So, you can't skip this step.

You Don't Need an SSL/TLS Certificate If You Don't Store Credit Card Info

It doesn't matter what sort of product or service you offer, you need to have an SSL certificate in place.

But before we start asking you to do things, let's talk about what SSL does.

Originally, SSL was designed for e-commerce and websites that collect personal information. It is software that you install on a webserver to protect communication.

Once it's set up, the SSL certificate enforces secure HTTPS connections that protect transmitted sats from being manipulated or stolen via encryptions. So, even if your data was compromised, it'll be unusable and the hacker won't be able to decipher any of the stolen information.

Needless to say, Google and Mozilla are all about it, and now they view having an SSL certificate as the new quality standard.

While a big portion of the internet isn't currently using an SSL certificate, this chunk is rapidly decreasing as Google Chrome now marks any website still making HTTP connections as "Not Secure".

This screams unreliable and sketchy to any potential customers that you have, so it doesn't matter if you're a sock shop or a stationery company, you'll need to get an SSL certificate if you want to look credible to your target audience.

Website Penetration Testing Is the Be-All and End-All

While website penetration testing is an extremely important element of any cybersecurity protocol, it shouldn't be the only way of testing your security.

Due to the unending debuts of new technologies entering the market, security gets more complex and multifaceted every day.

So starting with a traditional penetration testing is good, but it'll only cover the outer edges of the web application. It won't be able to cover each layer of the application stack.

Ready to Secure the Fort?

After debunking website security myths, you're in a much better position to secure your website and grow your business. Now you'll minimize the risk that the whole house of cards will crumble around you at the first poke from a hacker.

The trick to keeping a healthy and updated cybersecurity system in place is keeping up to date with the latest technologies.

So if you want to know more about how a gaming server works, and how you can go about choosing the right server hosting, then we've got you covered!