Hackers do not always have an agenda. They are looking for any weaknesses that can be manipulated and taken advantage of.
You do not have to be a big corporation with a lot of secrets or a large bank that holds sensitive information about a large pool of customers to be attacked. If you think you are neither of the above and you are safe from any cyber attack, then you’re wrong. It is time that you know that no matter how big or small your business is and whatever your website is about, it is not safe from any attack from a hacker.
Don’t think that your site contains any information that would be beneficial to a hacker. There are several reasons why a hacker would try getting into your website and take control. And here’s a list of those reasons:
1. Get Visitor’s Details
Visiting a webpage that contains malicious content is the biggest worry of anyone surfing the internet. The first guideline you give to a child when they start using the internet is to not click on anything that seems suspicious or don’t go to any unknown websites.
The reason for this worry is that an affected website can steal visitor’s sensitive information. The breach can be rewarding for the hacker as they get hands-on information they can take advantage of. While it can be highly satisfying for a pirate, it is even more disastrous for you if it’s your website that has been affected.
A security breach on your site that results in loss of client’s information also means that you will be responsible for compensating any losses incurred. These can be monetary losses in the form of credit card information or any other privacy breaches.
The Ashley Madison hack is a well-publicized example of such kind of breach.The dating website’s user data was breached and posted online which significantly harmed the business. After hackers get their hands on the vital information procured from your sites, they can do anything with it. They can sell it online on the dark web and sometimes post it online for free.These malicious actions can take away trust from your site, and the visitors become wary of what they are getting into.
2. Steal Business Information
The details of any businesses are of high value and are kept a secret from the rest. Companies around the world work extremely hard to keep the information hidden and keep the details to themselves, especially the info related to financials and other customer details. These are the components that give the company a competitive advantage over its competitors.
One motivation that hackers have is to steal the information of the company and make use of it. Stolen data is of high value for business competitors and other players in the industry. Therefore, it is essential that such information is kept under the wraps. Businesses are also advised not to sync related information on their websites as they are at high risk of being attacked.
The Heartbleed case is another well-known example of a sensitive business information breach. There was an OpenSSL created that was supposed to protect the websites from cyber attacks better. Instead, it resulted in giving away data to the hackers upon fake requests. Several website hosting servers were affected due to the breach.
3. Spread Virus
Spreading viruses around the internet is another thing hackers do to scare away visitors on your webpage. Hackers can manipulate the security system of your WordPress website and reach customers through it.
Hackers compile codes that include viruses and incorporate them at the site’s backend. Another way is through uploading files that are already tampered with. The files uploaded on the frontend become malicious when the visitor tries to interact with them. The interaction makes the customers gain information on the visitor and further breach their computers.
There are also malicious fake plugins on the internet that are used to trick internet users into downloading them. The download bridges the gap and enables the hackers to gain vital information from the computer and the website.
4. Spread Malicious Content
A lot of malicious content is spread through websites. That’s why you are always advised not to click suspicious sites and read the name carefully before clicking on it. Spam comments and spam emails are a source of spreading such infected content to customers and businesses directly.
Many websites have a comments section on their pages. The comment section mostly seems like an innocuous section when compared to the content on the page. The comments are usually made into something inviting that visitors are likely to be attracted to. However, a website user’s one click on a malicious link in the comments can lead to the virus’ quick spread. So, the next time you see a link in a comment that seems out place, DON’T click it.
5. Overload Web Server
Distributed denial of service, commonly known as the DDoS, is an issue that occurs on many high traffic websites when their web server is overloaded. Web servers have a limit on the number of visitors they can serve their website to. When the server is hit with an influx of visitor requests, it gets overloaded and fails instead. The failure causes the site to go offline and is not accessible for some time.
This often happens when there are flash sales on the internet. Sites get overloaded and fail. However, DDoS also occur as part of a pre-meditated attack by hackers who might do this to exact revenge or to take a site down and divert traffic to their own. This attack is also carried out to extort ransom.
6. Destroy Websites
You may be surprised, but there is often site vandalism on the internet. Hackers take control of the websites and then modify or manipulate the details present on it. This badly hurts the brand name of the company and promotes the hackers agenda.
There are all sorts of malicious attacks on the internet, and it is essential to keep your WordPress website safe from any such incident. To do that, it is imperative that you perform timely updates on the security protocols and protect yourself from any such event. By using services of HelpBot, you can ensure that your business website’s online security is well-maintained.
English