Three Effective Methods of Enhancing a Website’s Security With Crowdsourced Penetration Security
With hacking attempts increasingly on the rise, it’s never been more important than it is right now to ensure that a website is as safe and secure as possible. Even with the most extensive protection, there’s no one way to enhance a website’s security protocols, especially with hackers developing newer techniques to gain entry to a site’s infrastructure.
Instead of focusing on one be-all and end-all solution, it makes much more sense to implement a few features, as they will be far more likely to be able to deter hacking attempts. But what are these options and how do they work?
Crowdsource application security testing
This unique take on the hacking genre has taken the world by storm, so much so that many businesses are now offering thousands of dollars in compensation in return for ethical hackers to source, identify and report potential weaknesses that may leave a site exposed to hacking. The process starts by a company releasing a bounty for white hat hackers, in return for evaluating the companies’ website. When bugs, glitches and issues are discovered, they can be reported to the website owner directly, where they will be able to pay for the effort and then rectify the concerns.
Enhanced firewall installation
Most networks are exposed to no fewer than a dozen intrusion attempts on a daily basis – and many of these attempts originate from automatic bots that are consistently attempting to gain access to a site’s infrastructure. Some hackers create even more advanced systems that will actively seek out weaknesses in coding and programming, and an enhanced firewall can go a long way in deterring these efforts. By upgrading a firewall, the network will be able to almost immediately identify any hacking attempts and then block them.
HTTPS encryption
There’s a modification that can be applied to many websites where all transactions are required to run via a secure server; the likes of which financial giants like PayPal use. This form of protection is referred to as HTTPS encryption and it’s certainly recommended for any sites that offer transaction options for their audiences and customers. The URL will also be modified from the standard HTTP to the newer and more secure HTTPS, and the citation of this mark within the accompanying green bar can work wonders when it comes to deterring a hacker from trying their luck.
These are just a few methods that can help to secure a website’s infrastructure and data – and by far the most effective is to make use of testers via crowdsourcing. As these individuals will possess many of the same skills associated with hackers – if not more so, they will easily be able to discover bugs and problems that may be putting a website at risk.