Red Alert! – Is Your Website At Risk Of Attack?

This week we’ve been working with yet another company who’s managed to get their domain blacklisted as a direct result of their website being hacked.

As with most cases, the website owners didn’t realise that their website had a virus until their customers started to receive alert messages from Norton or MacAfee when they visited the affected website. This is not only hugely harmful for a company’s reputation but has a wider impact on the clients concerned.

Thankfully – help is at hand and we have removed the threat and set the company up with a new website with the all-important security maintenance plan. We’ve also reached out to the ISPs and Security Providers to get the website unlisted.

The Problem with Cyber Security

Failure to keep your website security settings up to date is the single biggest cause of website downtime. The most common reason for getting blacklisted is because of poor web security where a site has been harbouring a virus that has been aggressively emailing punters or maliciously posting content over the internet.

Cyber security is one of the fastest growing threats to UK businesses, and yet it is still one that few know little about, and many chose to ignore. It’s not about if, but when a cyber-attack or incident will affect your business, so it’s no longer acceptable to bury your head in the sand.

How does a website get a virus?

Websites are accessible to anyone using the internet – obvious no!? But the very thing that allows a site to be seen by the wider world can be the entrance for a potential hacker. Most websites that run on content management systems like WordPress or Drupal will require regular updates. Hackers like to exploit such websites by exploiting security loops in aging modules and software. Websites that have large databases that integrate into other business systems need to be especially careful.

What can businesses do to stay safe online?

Recognising that in many companies, cyber security is considered an overwhelming subject, and a tricky topic to tackle. Knowing where to start can be perplexing. That’s why we’ve teamed up with cyber security specialists – Cyber AMI. Their online platform provides a logical starting point for approaching cyber security. Taking you through a suite of easy-to-read modules, you’ll form an understanding of what threats exists, how to identify where you may be vulnerable, and what you can do to improve your security. As a part of our partnership, we are able to offer our clients a 1 month free trial period. We’d like to encourage our clients to take advantage of this excellent platform to help reduce their risk exposure. Along the way, the platform can help you to achieve the Government backed Cyber Essentials standard, which is believed to reduce the risk from cyber threats by up to 85%.

Get in touch with us if you would like further information or need help and advice.