How Can An SSL Certificate Save My Website From Cyber Theft?

In today’s world, we have all sorts of information and data on our websites that must be protected at all costs, like be it your credit card information or classified information or anything else. However, this information should be protected, and this is where data security comes into the picture.

And SSL is what provides unparalleled data security to any system. If you have a website and are worried about how to save it from hacking, don’t worry, we have you covered!

So, here are a few tips on how to protect your website from hacking by using SSL certificates:

1. Table of Contents

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   Encryption:

SSL certificate is a world-class technology that encrypts data transferred between end-users and the server. So basically, it encrypts all the sensitive information so that only the intended recipient can receive it.

Hackers and other cyber crooks no longer have the privilege to eavesdrop on sensitive and confidential information while it is on the move between networks. Critical information like your credit card information, contact details, etc. are given an extra layer of security using SSL encryption. Encryption from an SSL certificate helps protect your website data from hackers or identity theft.

2. Prevent Phishing:

Phishing is a form of hacking in which an individual or a group pretends to be a legitimate company and asks for confidential information. E.g., ICICI bank sends you an email asking you to verify your contact and bank details.

Once you trust the company as being genuine and use the link provided by them to enter the site and key in the details, the entered information is exposed and can be stolen. SSL certificates can prevent phishing by providing authentic and genuine websites with a seal of security. So, if there is a fraud ICICI bank website, it will not have an address that begins with https. Instead, it will only have Http.

The’S’ in https stands for security and is proof of the legitimacy of any website. SSL also marks sites as not secure in case they do not contain an https in their address. In fact, in July 2018, Google Chrome released a security update that informs website users if your website has an SSL certificate or not.

3. PCI Compliance:

If your website needs to accept any credit card information, then it needs specific security audits to show that you are complying with the payment card industry standards commonly known as PCI standards. It has prerequisites like security requirements, AVS scans, etc.

One of the requirements out of their long list of requirements is the proper use of SSL certificates. It gives the hackers a lot less room for hacking and avoids getting their hands on the confidential information of the customer or the users who visit your website.

4. Legal Ownership:

SSL certificates establish legitimate ownership of a website. They not only assure the visitors that the said organization indeed owns the website they are visiting, but the hackers also tend to stay away from such sites. It helps in building a relationship of trust with your customers and other users. It can also help to create a brand name and increase positive conversations about your website among the users, which in turn increases your website’s credibility.

5. Robust Reporting:

Security gaps and system downtimes often lead to hackers creating a gateway to enter your website quickly. Hence SSL certificate helps you avoid system downtimes, security gaps, and accidental certificate expiration by using automatic multi-level expiration notifications that alert you well before the expiration date. SAN SSL certificates can be applied to secure different level domain names that should be covered under a single SSL certificate be it a Multi-Domain (SAN) or Extend Validation Multi-Domain Certificate.

6. Improved SEO Rankings:

According to research, about 67% of hackers tend to attack sites that have the lowest or a website which has a comparatively lower-ranking boost. An SSL certificate gives an SEO improvement to the site, which improves your link. Hence hackers attribute a lower page ranking to a more economic security situation on your website and thus mark your website as an easy target and attempt to implement a cyber-attack.

7. Business Future Proofing:

With threats increasing and hackers gaining access to websites, companies are being prompted to have more advanced security measures. Hence SSL certificates represent a step that will be widely accepted or deployed to meet the more significant risks that come with e-commerce in today’s world. Therefore, companies that implement SSL certificates on websites will be taking an essential step towards futureproofing.

It is said that a building can stand long and well only if the foundation is firm. If the security measures for your website are foolproof at the very initial stages, then the site can be quickly grown in the future by making the minimum necessary upgradations to the SSL certificates over time.

8. Extra Security to Admin Directories:

Admin directories is a direct way to hack into the website’s data. Hackers search and scan for directories starting with a name like admin or log in. They mainly pay attention to these folders to compromise the website’s security.

Using a different name won’t be enough, and you can’t just compromise on your web security. SSL certificates make your life much simpler by merely keeping your source directories safe.

9. HTTPS:

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) enables secure online transactions between the website and the server. The SAN SSL Certificate moves your website to the HTTPS protocol and makes your data safe from hacking attempts.

Hence in all aspects of website well-being, SSL plays an important role. Be it building brand value, creating customer trust, data security, etc. Investing in an SSL certificate secures not only your website data but also its future. In the world full of cybercrime, SSL acts as your shield.

Conclusion:

Many of us believe that my website will not be affected by cyber risk, but it is not true. Hackers always in search of soft targets, and they mainly target small businesses as they do not have proper security measures or have ignored a security aspect. The above steps will boost your website security against rising phishing, MiTM attacks that can sniff traveling information between a server and a browser.