As much as the IT sector is developing today, security risk crises are increasing too. What is this security risk? Why do we need Security? What creates a threat to Security? All these types of questions start arising in our minds.

And when it comes to answering these questions, we come to know something about attackers or Hackers. So, here you will get to know about Hackers, Website Hacking, the risk that arises due to hacking and many more.

According to the Sophos Security Threat Report of 2012, it has reported that more than 30,000 websites were hacked every day.

Then let's talk about the Google Transparency Report of 2017, according to which google deemed over 1.2 Million sites as being dangerous (containing Malware or Phishing).

This is all the result of Hacking somewhere. So, what is this hacking? What does it actually mean to have your website hacked?

You will probably get these answers by the end of this blog.

What is Hacking?

Hacking is something that should always be on the mind of every internet user not because they want to become hackers. But because any mistake they do online compromise their devices and accounts.

Hacking means gaining someone's access or credentials without their permission. Hacking can be done on many different platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Websites etc.

Let's here talk about the websites.

There are many things a hacker might do once they are inside your website:

• Steal personal information like client data and credit card details
• Remove your content and your access and demand for a huge amount to return it
• Add links to their own site to increase traffic to the website or to help SEO (this could be by inserting links into your existing copy or by adding popups)
• Add Malware that could attack computers that view your website
• Just damage your website for their fun
• Use the site to generate mass spam emails
• Can leak unnecessary and wrong information from your site

What's the purpose of doing this?

There is nothing like their intention behind the hacking. Mostly Hackers do the hacking for their satisfaction. It is like winning a lottery for them. Most hacking is actually carried out by a series of automated bots developed by hackers to crawl through the internet looking for vulnerabilities in code or infrastructure. So there is nothing related to big or small websites/ Businesses, all that hackers want to just hack the platform for no reason.

How do they do it?

There are several ways in which websites get hacked…and they can all be preventable :

• Your password has been revealed, probably due to being too weak or from a leak from another source.
• If the security updates haven’t been installed holes can be found in code, leaving the site vulnerable – these could be web server software, CMS (Content Management Systems, e.g. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal etc.) updates, plugin updates, theme updates.
• Vulnerabilities are identified and exploited in plugins or themes that are no longer supported or updated by the creators.
• Phishing is not the type with a rod, but where you have given your login details to the hacker yourself by clicking links in malicious emails.
• Poor security policies (too many administrators, no HTTPS, allowing weak passwords etc.).

What can happen if your website is hacked?

Having your website being hacked is a very terrible and regrettable experience for anyone who had put so much effort into standing the site. However, the damage can go much further than the distress and inconvenience it causes.

• Your website could be blacklisted by Google and other search engines if malicious code is found on there and you’ll have to bid to be removed from each blacklist once you can prove your site is clean again.
• You can lose the trust of your current clients and customers.
• Your brand’s reputation could be at risk.
• Your website will obviously have downtime which will lose you sales/leads.
• It can cost a significant amount of money to get your website cleaned and restored.
• It can be emotionally and mentally very painful.

What can you do to protect your website?

• Obtain an SSL certificate
• Create secure passwords
• Install security plugins
• Update your website regularly
• Handle website uploads carefully
• Use website security tools
• Backup your website
• Tighten network security
• Limit file uploads

This is all about this blog. If you know further about Security or the technologies used for Data Security then feel free to visit our blog - Core Technologies that ensure a high level of Data Security in the Organisation - Zeiq. co

Have a good Reading!!

Thank you!