Security Concerns in Web Hosting and Proven Solutions
Web hosting is critical for website security. There are billions of websites on the internet, each of which is hosted on a web server. Evidence from the past emphasises the significance of secure web hosting. Security should be a top priority for anyone who runs a website or hosts a large number of business websites. Furthermore, by ensuring web hosting security, you are protecting not only your website but also your customers and visitors, as well as building trust in your organization.
What Causes Security Issues in Web Hosting?
According to the chief of the UK espionage agency GCHQ in October 2021, ransomware attacks on British institutions had increased in the previous year. Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victim’s data and holds it hostage in exchange for a fee. This information has been used in a number of recent cyberattacks, most notably the attack on the NHS in 2017. Malware attacks are expected to rise in the coming years, according to cyber security experts.
Choosing the wrong web hosting business can jeopardise your security and expose your website to downtime and malicious attacks. Better managed cloud hosting services for websites can offer a wide range of security measures that can help you solve difficulties.
Web Hosting Security Best Practices
To encrypt data communications, SSL Certificates are utilised.
One of the top web hosting security best practices is encrypting data transport with an SSL certificate. A secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate is a digital certificate for a website. The SSL certificate encrypts the content and verifies the website’s identity. This allows data to be transmitted over the site in a safe and private manner. You force an encrypted connection to the server when you utilise a cryptographically secure cypher, which safeguards the user’s data.
Web Application Firewall
Hosts must ensure the security of their servers in any hosting environment. Furthermore, securing a web server protects not only the hoster’s assets but also protects customer data from hackers. Businesses that use website hosting providers rely on the hoster to protect their corporate data and keep the business site running smoothly. If the server is compromised, it could result in data loss, downtime, and a reduction in customer revenue. These issues have an impact on the hoster’s reputation and revenue, so implementing a few of the best practices will harden web server security and reduce the risk of a compromise.
To monitor HTTPS traffic flow, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) is required. WAP can decipher your web application’s unique requirements, making your server more secure. Furthermore, the Web application firewall acts as a reverse proxy, routing traffic through it before it reaches the webserver. Some WAF configurations can protect against SQL injections, vulnerability probing, and cross-site scripting.
IP addresses should be whitelisted.
Most Importantly, customers should be advised to whitelist IP addresses rather than allowing open access from any IP address so that only approved IPs can access administrative areas of their accounts. The same should be said for the server. Administrators should whitelist maintenance IPs for SSH remote access.
Password update on a regular basis.
By continuing to use the same password indefinitely, you give cybercriminals the opportunity to attack your site. Passwords should be changed on a regular basis to ensure the security of your web servers. Moreover, password changes for sites with high privileges should be prioritised because they have the most potential to negatively impact the site. Changing passwords on a regular basis was one of the best web hosting security practices. The attack window can be narrowed by using passwords that correspond to different user groups and websites. Importantly, do not allow unrestricted file uploads because they can expose your site to malicious attacks.
Applicable Plugins and Applications
Install the application software from reputable websites and test it on a regular basis for inertness. The age, number of installations, and number of updates should all be considered. These enable you to determine their existence and veracity. Modify the default credentials and settings as well to avoid attacks and data theft. Furthermore, to help eliminate your website’s vulnerabilities, updates can be made whenever a new version is released.
Malware identification
It is a procedure for identifying malicious software.
Site owners can upload any file they want if necessary. Shared hosting services, on the other hand, allow you to store your website’s files on a server that also hosts numerous other websites. Furthermore, In shared hosting, multiple websites share the same server. If your website is hosted on shared hosting, it is at risk. Moreover, because malware can be uploaded by anyone, the infection can spread to other websites hosted on the same server. To avoid such issues, hosting companies should monitor their servers on a regular basis. A good hosting provider will handle malware detection. Even Nonetheless, some hosting companies are unconcerned about hosting security.
Data Backup on Servers
Further backups are an important part of disaster recovery because they can be used to recover data at the request of customers or to restore a server if it becomes a target of a sophisticated attack. Furthermore, a successful ransomware injection, for example, on a shared hosting server could destroy data across all customer sites. Instead of dealing with a critical security incident that cannot be resolved quickly, backups could be used to recover. There are also cloud backup services that can prevent data loss to a great extend
Configure the HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) Header for the Host.
SSL/TLS encrypts the hosted website, but it does not protect cookies or sites that continue to accept HTTP cleartext connections. Setting the HSTS header to Strict-Transport-Security switches users from HTTP to HTTPS and forces browsers to send cookies only over encrypted channels, reducing cookie hijacking.
Remove any applications that are no longer in use for hosting.
When a hosting application (for example, Apache) is on a Linux server, it is usually configured with the default settings, plugins, and possibly other third-party applications. Furthermore, any additional application on the server increases the risk of vulnerabilities due to code errors or allowing the application to run unpatched. Furthermore, rather than leaving them installed on the server, uninstall any applications that aren’t required for hosting customer sites.
It is difficult to mitigate the risks of security breaches. Furthermore, to ensure secure web hosting, you must be aware of web hosting security issues that make your site vulnerable to cyber attacks. Consulting with the best-managed web hosting service provider can help to reduce the risks associated with web hosting.
