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Web Security Mistakes: 7 Mistakes That Could Cost You Millions

Maintaining an effective online presence is one of the most important requirements for almost every business in the 21st century. However, some businesses avoid maintaining an online presence since even the smallest mistakes can cost you dearly. This does not come as a surprise considering data breaches and cyber attacks cost businesses an average of $4.24 million annually. 

However, just because risks are involved does not mean you should ignore them altogether. Instead, you must understand the common mistakes and take important measures to counter them. This is a more reasonable thing to do since the returns you would generate through online sales are also very appealing. 

So, let’s check out seven web security mistakes that could cost you millions and learn how to avoid them for good.      

1. Allowing Untrained Employees To Access Your Website 

Securing your access is one of the first and most important things you need to know about successfully running a website. You must only grant access to people with the skills and competence to do their jobs as per the best cyber security practices. 

Large businesses don’t always have to deal with this issue since they have dedicated professionals for a specific job. But small businesses often have fewer employees, and one employee might be responsible for different things. 

For instance, an office manager might also be responsible for updating website content, but they cannot do this job without proper cybersecurity knowledge. The best way to avoid this mistake is to provide employees with the necessary training on a regular basis to keep their knowledge updated.    

2. Lack of Visibility

Lack of visibility is another common web security mistake that troubles online businesses even to this day. This means storing data in shadow IT resources such as a forgotten or abandoned legacy application. This does come as a surprise since no business can protect something they don’t know exists. 

These things can cause grievous concerns for organizations irrespective of their size of operations. However, most businesses face these issues significantly while growing and scaling their operations. This is when they require more advanced software and have to leave legacy solutions behind. 

Hence, the best way to tackle this issue is to maintain a record of all the solutions your business uses. You must update the record in a timely manner and get rid of the legacy applications. This will help you ensure better web security with a few preventive measures. 

3. Undermining Existing Vulnerabilities 

When it comes to cyber security, you can never be too careful since someone is always ready to make the most of your vulnerabilities. Of course, it is not unlikely to have vulnerabilities in your web defense, but you must identify and address them. 

This would mean you have a heavy-duty lock on your front door while your windows are open. It is only a matter of time before the thief finds the open window and gets the job done. 

This makes it very important you conduct website vulnerability tests regularly. Besides that, you must check your codes and take necessary measures if you encounter something wrong. 

4. Failing To Apply Updates and Patches

No web solution is perfect since the digital world evolves at a very fast rate compared to anything else. Nevertheless, updates and patches are fundamental to cyber security since this is how developers address existing vulnerabilities. But unfortunately, most people still tend to undermine the significance of the updates. 

You must check for updates regularly and complete them without failure and at the right time. In case you don’t have the time to check for updates regularly, you can even choose to automate these updates for good. This will ensure there is no room for vulnerabilities in your web security.      

5. Not Choosing Your Third Parties Wisely. 

Just as one person cannot do everything to run a business similarly, even one solution might not always be able to meet all your requirements. This is when you might have to install a third-party plugin. In other cases, larger businesses tend to outsource their web maintenance to other third parties to save on costs. 

While there is no problem, businesses must ensure their third party is a reliable vendor. Unfortunately, there have been countless cases where a business succumbed to cyber attacks due to vulnerabilities left unchecked by third parties. So make sure you always pick the right dedicated development team to ensure you don’t fall victim to cyber-attacks. 

6. Improper Management of TLS/SSL Certificates 

If you fail to manage all your certificates effectively, all the benefits of encryption also go out of the window. In addition, using any sort of compromised keys or expired TLS/SSL certificates can cost your business dearly. For instance, this could mean your customer data is transmitting through insecure channels, or service outages will become standard for your website. 

Therefore, you must make all the efforts to follow all the best practices for effective certificate management. Make sure you use certificate management tools that give you comprehensive visibility over the entire network. Also, make sure all the keys are valid and keep a tab on them regularly.    

7. Poor Password Management

Poor password management is one of the most common mistakes people make with web security management. This is important for everyone, including every authorized personnel and the website administrator. Of course, this does not mean that you are fully safe if your password is strong, but you must also ensure the safety of your saved password-related data. 

Keeping your password long and unique is the first step here, so feel free to get a little creative with your password. However, always use something as a password only if you are certain you will be able to remember it. Besides that, changing your passwords can also go a long way in terms of security here.  

Bottom Line 

The digital world can be intimidating for many, especially if you are still new to the nuances of this sphere. However, having the right knowledge can help you make the most of the internet without worry. So make sure you are mindful of the aforementioned web security mistakes and make all the efforts to prevent them.  

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