[column width=”1/1″ last=”true” title=”” title_type=”single” animation=”none” implicit=”true”]
Websites being attacked by hackers is nothing new, but business owners may underestimate the scope of the problem: a recent Nielsen study indicated a healthy majority (57%) of online consumers do not believe that e-commerce websites will keep their personal data secure. And small wonder with the rate of cyber chicanery continuing to grow:
-
A report from ACI Worldwide noted a direct correlation between the growth of online transactions and online fraud
-
Google reported that in 2015 there was a in the number of hacked sites on the web.
Data security is a concern for consumers and business owners alike. It’s not just shopping that is prone to cyber threats– any business that communicates with customers is susceptible to attack. With more and more private and financial information traveling through cyberspace, there are more and more chances for hackers to breach security measures and obtain consumers’ information, and for businesses to be negatively affected by the attack.
Ning Song, Google software engineer, “A huge amount of legitimate sites are hacked by spammers and used to engage in abusive behavior, such as malware download, promotion of traffic to low quality sites, porn, and marketing of counterfeit goods or illegal pharmaceutical drugs, etc.”.
What can be done?
First, recognize that factors like outdated web platforms allow spammers to more easily utilize security flaws and introduce malicious code onto a site. Oftentimes, the neither the site owner nor visitors notice any change. Webmasters must maintain current security.
Google promotes better security online with HTTPS, the encrypted protocol. The company encourages the use of this more secure means of communication by offering a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) benefit: according to Backlinko, using HTTPS is clearly beneficial to search rankings. Google has also been removing deceptive ads or those ads linked to banned content: more than 780 million banned ads during 2015, according to an annual report from Google.
Redirects, web spam, and unwanted adware downloads are only part of the picture. Potential damage from poorly secured websites can be more severe. One of the most difficult security threats to solve is squarely on the backs of consumer behavior: virtually everyone knows it’s not advised to use the same password for multiple sites, and yet people continue to do so.
Having one password used for both your locally-owned restaurants dining program and your bank account is surely easier than remembering two different passcodes. But if a hacker can get one password, they can then use it on other sites. And before you harshly judge anyone who might use the same password on multiple sites, you should know that according to an article in Reuters, Hold Security (famous for getting back stolen hacked data) analyzed 272 million stolen email addresses along with the passwords used by the holders to login to various websites. There are millions of customers who simply hate having to remember, change, and enter new passwords.
Programmers themselves are getting smarter, often, as we’ve seen, with the help of the big technology companies: they have a strong vested interest in cyber security. And these efforts are paying off: Google reports a 33 percent increase in the number of sites cleaned up in order to move through a . And webmasters are more often building sites that require strong passwords and updating their security platforms regularly.
And companies benefit too: part of is how well they handle the private, personal consumer data.
It’s a trust factor that should not be ignored.
Your business is trusted by your customers, too. The information your business collects on those customers can be vast, sensitive, and need to be secured. At the same time, access to this data may be required in order to conduct business.
That’s where 5i Solutions Inc. comes in.
Safely storing and yet being able to access vital data today requires technology. And the good news for North American business is that this technology can be surprisingly effective and inexpensive.
Especially when compared to a data breach.
We protect your (and your customers’) information with security protocols built into our data hosting and Cloud Vaults:
- Encryption
- Network security
- Custom levels of identity verification
- Access control
- Threat management
- Penetration testing
- Monitoring
- Logging
5i Solutions Inc. has the tools, technology, and the know-how to secure your business’s critical data. Our Cloud Vault storage solutions provide 24/7/365 access and allow you to interact with your important information whenever you want, from wherever you are.
5i Solutions. One single, secure point of intake, access, and storage. One singular solution.
5i Solutions, Inc.
[/column]
