With cybercriminals finding more ways to attack websites and the potentially catastrophic consequences of falling victim, securing your hosting environment is essential. In this post, we provide a comprehensive checklist of defensive measures you can take to protect your site, including those provided by security-conscious web hosts.
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Secure and harden server configurations
If your server is not properly configured, it can create vulnerabilities which cybercriminals can exploit. The most effective ways to strengthen server security are:
- Disable unnecessary services and ports: This minimises the number of ports that can be used for an attack and reduces the potential for unauthorised access.
- Use secure protocols: For remote access, use encrypted protocols like SSH instead of FTP, as this stops your credentials from being intercepted during transit.
- Restrict root access: If you have root access to your server, make sure permission is only given to the people who need it. This helps prevent both accidental and malicious changes to your server configurations.
- Use a web application firewall (WAF): WAFs filter and block malicious web traffic before it can reach your server, protecting you from a range of different attacks.
- Regular vulnerability scans: By carrying out regular vulnerability scans, you can identify misconfigurations and weaknesses before cybercriminals exploit them.
If you have shared hosting, you will not have root access to your server, so most of the security measures above will be taken care of by the service provider. If you have managed hosting, your service provider may also implement many of these measures on your behalf.
Access controls, password policies and two-factor authentication
Passwords can be stolen and weak passwords guessed using advanced hacking tools. If you have poor password policies, weak authentication methods and no access control, your website and hosting account are at risk of brute force attacks and unauthorised access. To protect against this:
- Enforce strong passwords: Enforcing means your system will stop users from creating weak passwords. The standard policy today requires passwords of over 12 characters with a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA): 2FA provides an additional layer of security, requiring users to input a code besides their username and password. This prevents stolen credentials being used to gain access. 2FA should be used for all your important access points, e.g., your hosting account, control panel and website dashboard.
- Restrict access: Access control, which can be managed via control panels and CMS dashboards, enables you to limit access based on user roles. Only system admins should have administrative access.
- IP whitelisting: You can configure your firewall so that access to your site is only allowed from trusted locations or IP addresses. This can significantly reduce the potential for attacks.
For more information on 2FA, read: Two-Factor Authentication: Why You Need It for Your Web Hosting
Monitoring tools, firewalls and intrusion detection systems
The latest real-time monitoring and proactive security tools, some AI-enabled, identify threats as they happen and prevent them from turning into full-blown attacks. These tools are widely used by hosting providers to protect their customers’ websites. Examples include:
- Firewalls: Web hosts use network firewalls and Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) to block unauthorised traffic from your server and stop cybercriminals from accessing your site.
- Intrusion Detection System (IDS): As the name suggests, these tools monitor network activity detecting anomalies to prevent unauthorised access.
- Real-time monitoring tools: These tools monitor activity to identify security issues. They track file changes, failed login attempts and unusual system activity.
- Reviewing security logs: Web hosts regularly review access, system and error logs to identify vulnerabilities and early signs of cyberattacks.
SSL certificates, encryption and data protection
Data breaches and leaks can lead to fines, lawsuits and damaged reputations. There are several ways you can improve data protection, including:
- SSL certificates: SSLs encrypt data, such as payment information, sent between your visitors’ devices and your website, preventing it from being stolen in transit. They are vital for websites and without them, browsers will not label your site as secure. SSL certificates will be available from your hosting provider.
- Strong encryption: Web hosts can protect the data stored on your server using powerful AES-256 encryption. This means that even if the data is accessed, it will be meaningless to and unusable by attackers.
- Password-protect databases: Use strong passwords for database access and follow this by restricting access permissions. You can implement these measures in your control panel.
Don’t have an SSL? Read: SSL Certificates – What They Are and Why Your Website Needs One
Updates, patching and backups
Cybercriminals target software vulnerabilities to infect or gain access to your website. To prevent this, all your software should be kept up to date, security patches must be installed quickly and a backup solution put in place for disaster recovery. Here are the steps you should implement:
- Update your OS: Your server’s operating system should be updated as soon as a new update is released. With shared hosting and managed hosting accounts, your web host will do this for you.
- Update your CMS, plugins and themes: There are various ways to implement auto-updates so that the potential for delay and consequent attack is mitigated. With CMS, like WordPress, this can be done within your dashboard. You can automate plugins via your control panel. Themes may still need to be updated manually, depending on which theme you use, but you can set up alerts to remind you.
- Uninstall unnecessary software: Removing unused themes and plugins reduces the number of potential vulnerabilities and ways to attack your site.
- Use a fit-for-purpose backup solution: Backups are essential for recovery, but they should provide the level of protection you need. Cloud backup solutions, available from some web hosts, let you automate backups at your chosen frequency, store them remotely, check them for errors and encrypt them. You can also manage your storage and retention policy via the backup dashboard.
For more information, read: Cloud Backups – The Best Way to Protect Website Data
Conclusion
Keeping your website secure is vital given the advanced methods used by today’s cybercriminals. By implementing the security measures mentioned above, you can help prevent hacking, malware infections and data breaches, and the devastating impact they can have on your business. By choosing the right web host, many of these measures will be implemented on your behalf, reducing the burden, the cost and the worry.
Need a web host that defends your website with round-the-clock, rock-solid security? As a managed hosting provider, Webhosting UK carries out important security actions on your behalf while using the very latest technologies and tools to keep cyberattacks at bay. For more information about our secure hosting solutions, visit our homepage.
