Does SSL Security Mean a Secure Website?

Secure Website

 

Okay so your new website’s ready to go live and you’ve been through your checklist?

  • Choose the name of the available URL
  • Domain Purchase
  • Build website
  • Secure Website

Typically the last item on your checklist, protection, is one that’s given the least importance and yet when it’s not addressed it can trump all the others. And when it’s discussed, it typically involves buying and enforcing an SSL certificate for many. SSL certificates, a favourite and useful protection mechanism, provide security to protect user and business details, but leaves us with the ultimate question:

Do the SSL certificates Secure websites completely?

SSL Certificates are intended at its heart to protect communication between the client (browser) and the server. Any information exchanged between them will be encrypted with the SSL Certificate so that it is not abused, changed or manipulated by someone or robot – resulting in a cute green padlock on the browser symbolising encrypted security.

So the green padlock in the search bar means the Safe is your website, right?

Unfortunately, websites that are not properly managed may have several weaknesses through the very frameworks that make it easy for you to build them (WordPress etc). Any security risks inside your web application, such as Cross-Site-Scripting, Cross-Site-Request-Forgery, SQL-Injection, vulnerable Session-IDs, DDoS attacks, etc., often still work, even if the link is encrypted with the SSL certificate. SSL Certificates alone can’t protect you from bad code, malware injections, spam and other could malicious attacks on the web application and/or on the servers themselves.

No Worries I’m safe on HTTPS – is that not enough?

HTTPS (and SSL / TLS) provide what is called “transit encryption.” This ensures that data and communication between a browser and website server (using a protected protocol) is in encrypted format, so when these data packets are intercepted, they can not be read or manipulated.

However, it is also decrypted when the device receives the data that it decrypts, and when the server receives the data. This decryption is then stored so that in the future, browser or server can remember the data, or even use it through other integrations, such as CRMs. At rest, SSL and TLS do not provide us with encryption – such as when the data is stored on the server of the website. This ensures that if a hacker can reach the server they will be able to read all the decrypted data that you sent.

Most vulnerabilities and data breaches result from hackers gaining access to these unencrypted databases, so while HTTPS technologies mean that data gets to the databases securely, they are not safely stored.

It is not false to claim that HTTPS is stable, but it is not entirely true either. It is one piece in a cybersecurity jigsaw puzzle that is one of the easiest security features to recognise on the face of it-especially from a web-crawler perspective.

The layered approach to protection is the Solution

Yeah, so you’ve got SSL and HTTPS, and query, should you get rid of it? What is full security for websites if not SSL?

Well don’t absolutely get rid of SSL-praise it. SSL certificates are an essential part of security on your website but do not provide maximum protection. Much like every other robust security protocol, protecting your website. The better you get the more layers. Consider how to protect your physical home – just putting locks on the doors and windows doesn’t secure you entirely. You want to mount cameras with a view to any potential threats, alarms / sirens with warnings of such threats, and many also rely on their trusted dogs to stay alert and thwart any intruders. It’s no different to protect your Website.

Fortunately for us all, securing your website is as simple now as designing , building and releasing it. Fixhackedwebsite Security is a completely controlled security service that covers all levels of website protection – yes, even an SSL certificate included so you don’t have to worry about anything related to security. You can have the security technologies used by bigger company websites and cyber security experts live on call 24/7 to secure your website for .25 cents a day.

Here are some of the features that Fixhackedwebsite service provides that complete the security package:

Malware detection and remedying service offering robust scanning tools to find and restore any hidden malware that lingers on your website.

Content Delivery Network (CDN) that does not offer traffic spikes protection but also increases the speed of uploading your site by providing global servers to shorten the gap between your web content and tourists.

Web Application Firewall ( WAF) operating inside the CDN right in the cloud which acts like your “guard dog”-detecting, filtering and fending off any malicious attempts.

Safety Information and Event Management (SIEM) which is the core of its layered approach – this includes constant real-time surveillance, forensics, and incident management of all operations to assess the good from the bad.