In the United States alone, 30,000 websites are hacked with malware every day. A large number of those are small business websites which are targeted because they don’t have the cybersecurity protections that large enterprise IT teams can put up. But there is still plenty that small business owners can do to ensure the safety of their accounts. Check if your hosting provider offers any of the following, all of which can help ensure that your account does not become the next statistic.
Cybersecurity Features You Should Look for in a Hosting Package
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Also called multifactor authentication (MFA), 2-factor authentication adds a second security credential to the login process. If you’re on a managed hosting plan, then you probably know that cPanel is where your technical staff can configure all aspects of their hosting accounts. Because cPanel is so powerful, the risks if a hacker gets in are far more damaging than gaining access to, say, an FTP account or a WordPress backend. That’s why it’s extremely useful if your host offers 2FA on logins to cPanel.
Free SSL Certificates
If your small business operates multiple domain names, then you’ll find it particularly helpful if your hosting provider offers free SSL certificates with their hosting package. An SSL certificate is a guarantee from a Certificate Authority (CA) that traffic to and from the website will be encrypted by Transport Layer Security (TLS). You might be more familiar with this as https:// rather than http:// before certain domain names. Using TLS gives your customers peace of mind that data they send to and from your website will be encrypted over their local networks. Because your customers’ user credentials could conceivably be used to brute force your own digital infrastructure, it’s in your interests too to make sure this is offered.
DKIM, SPF, DMARC
Email spoofing is a real concern for any small business. To combat this, look for a host that offers 3 email authentication tools on its hosting packages: Sender Policy Framework (SPF), Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM) and Domain-based Message Authentication, and Reporting & Conformance (DMARC). These are configured as DNS records in your cPanel and mean that recipients can see that the email was authenticated by your organization and is not the result of a fraudster impersonating you.
Easy Update Manager
If your small business is using some popular website builders such as the WordPress Content Management System (CMS), then you should know that you’re wide open to any vulnerabilities in the code base. Because of how widely these systems are deployed, they’re lucrative targets for hackers. A one-click script installation and manager means that you can ensure that any such cloud-hosted programs are updated automatically and at regular intervals—without having to ask your IT staff for help.
