How Website Got Hacked and How To Prevent It

Websites are the doorway to your market enterprise. They are the only way to represent your brand’s product and services. Initially what viewers are looking for is the site as it is the banner along with the desired information that draws their attention. As a matter of fact, successful websites are the ones that help you to get online customers and generate leads. In the long run, it is a way of gaining profits and making a mark among the competitors. With so many business enterprises mushrooming every second, it is necessary to protect your website from all kinds of spams and other illegal activities. But most of the time, security issues fall back to protect our vital resource. People usually get confused that “ How Website Got Hacked ?” and this becomes the only query. If you are worried about the malicious codes that affecting your site, then this blog will surely provide you ideas for enhancing protection.

How Website Got Hacked? Have A Brief Insight!

In today’s time, creating something engaging for your site is important for maintaining the credibility of your page. Irrespective of the size, the page must be such that it grasps the target audience quickly. But it needs just a second to destroy all your efforts. A small loophole and the hackers can snatch your data smoothly under your eyes. That can be really scary when you can’t gain access to your website. But how does such a calamity appear? In recent reports, almost 1 billion sites have turned inactive. Which means, at every second a hacker destroys the life of website owner. In comparison to the population using the internet it might seem negligible, but for the site owners, it is a matter of shame.

As a reader, you must keep in mind that phishing is not only related to commerce. Even, it can snatch vital info about people’s daily lives. Your bank account details, monetary transactions, bill payments all are linked through the web servers. Moreover, these websites also act as the medium for effective communication. What the users search and read online are all included in the functioning of any site. You will be surprised to know that a few sites also predict and analyze the voting results. Now imagine if the hackers gain access to these, it can turn down the Sensex and create political quarrels in seconds.

But How Can Hacking Help Freaks?

According to one of the leading newspapers in Dubai, hacking has created a huge loss on the part of the people. And time and again despite measures, someone is getting affected. This is turning into daily activity and many people have complained that this activity slows down their internet speed as well. Therefore, for the freaks, they earn ample money at one go. Website hacking is becoming the biggest online gambling ground these days. Here comes the question why do they even do that? Simultaneously, you must know how and when do they do that? According to research, cyber attacks do not occur all the time. It appears occasionally but all at once For example, during the elections or when banking accounts open. In recent times, phishers are targeting old people and novice who have no clue about e-payments or an electronic money transaction.  

The extent of illegal activities is increasing day by day. Even if you are an online product seller, snatching information would mean your customers will no longer feel safe. They may shift their loyalties to other brands. So, keeping a watchful eye is very much important.

Why My Site Was Hacked?

Well by this time, this question must have arisen in your mind. The first major reason is websites’ vulnerability. Phishers normally use advanced tools to check the number of visitors, viewers, and content for your page. These mechanisms work like the Googlebot where vital information is collected but the intention is different. Once all the necessary elements are known, the hackers send out spam and virus. In this regard, shared hosting can help the virus to enter your domain. Secondly, profit is the driving force behind cyber attacks. Moreover, in most cases, the database is wiped off or sold at an extremely high price. It can also be sold under some other name. Whatever it is, this is not ethical.

How Website Got Hacked? Sources Overlooked

Apart from vulnerabilities and profit, there are other reasons that might lure the phisher to hack your site. One of them is the website environment. There are endless elements like domain name, hosting that work in the site in unison, etc that are responsible. But once you let any random agency take care of the services, the potential dangers appear.

Forensics Versus Remediation

These are two elements that are often overlooked. In a nutshell, Forensics is a stringent process of understanding the reason behind the cybercrime. What, how, who are some questions that fall under this category. On the other hand, remediation is the art of eliminating infections from the base. The issue is that forensics requires thorough detailing, a lot of data and time. For small businesses, this is practically impossible. Especially if they are sharing hosting rights, there is a dearth of data.

Access Control

In simple terms, it refers to authenticity and authorization that every user or owner has while logging into their accounts. However, this is the most undermined sector. The owner in most cases fails to look at the changes made to the hosting panel, server, the CMS, social media among others. And this etches the success of the attackers. They can, under your nose, change the user id, passcode, forge the scripting language, send spam. Worse still, they can encrypt your name and signature to draw out money and credentials in seconds.

Software Vulnerabilities

Software vulnerabilities since time immemorial is a problem. They can badly affect the infrastructure, servers as well as the browser. Under websites, POST Headers or a malfunctioning URL can let the cybercriminal perform severe activities. SQL injection, Remote Code Execution are some examples that often hamper the page.

Third Party Services

In the technological era, third-party integrations are becoming prominent and problematic. Unnecessary ads, pop-ups, are leading to massive online attacks. And their extent is far and wide. Whichever Content Management System you undertake, say, Drupal, Joomla!, WordPress all allow ad networks. Here lies the underlying cause of website deterioration. As an owner, you cannot control the ad flow. Hence, you have to compromise despite knowing how dangerous it is.

What Should I Do?

By now you must have an answer to the query that “How website got hacked?” despite taking measures. But the next comes that how can you get rid of this situation? Well, do not fall into the trap again. You need to reduce the risk factors rather than removing it. Get a simple fact straight: you can never find a cent percent solution for anything. Some loopholes will always remain but you can minimize them through awareness and education. Go for quick scans and apply a proactive approach.

It is advisable not to take help from any random agency that offers pre-made systems. It is true that you need Content Management System for the site building, but ensure that you consult a certified one in this regard. Premade systems are weak and are not safe and secured. They are created with the intention of quick results. Because of which, endless customizations and templates are present. But most of the features do not cater to website security. You might avail endless opportunities with add-ons but at the same time,  you are risking your content buildup. The hackers can use these modifications, templates to plagiarise your efforts.

Stay Away from Luring Elements

One of the most vital points that most owners forget is awareness. Since pre-made stuff comes at a fair price they invest in it without a second thought. And this is where you trap yourself. You may get a hint of profit initially but that never helps to grow your business. Moreover, most developers use the same format of templates which makes it more vulnerable. You will find numerous agencies promising endless facilities at an affordable price. But do you think that is even possible? If that was true, search engines would have never favoured quality content.

There is another factor adding to this issue which is a lack of value for the page or blog. One can gain access to your site only when he is given every opportunity to do so. Most of us use social networks to promote our brands but fail to keep updates after a while. In fact, we are reluctant enough to even look after it. As a result, phishing activities take place openly without applying any brute force.

Some Tips to Follow

One might argue that technological advancements are a bane and not a boon. Previous versions of things were better than what we are using today.  But that is never true. Security glitches always took place but the dynamicity has widened. What seemed impossible yesterday, can be done with simple techniques today. But you can change it through single actions. All it takes is good posture and responsibility. To summarize there are few tips that one should follow to enhance protection facilities for your online company.

1. Go for Defense in Depth principle; a mechanism that secures the organization in layers
2. Make a list of users who should have administrative rights.
3. Use multi and two-factor authentication system for every transaction. It will also secure client information on the site.
4. Double check backups. They are the real saviors when it comes to cyber attacks.
5. Use Webmaster tools for registering your website.
6. Depend on Firewall Protection for sites

Know How the Government is Trying to Improve Website Security Mechanisms!

After a long time, the UAE government has passed several notifications to protect sites from phishing activities. They have taken help from Google’s webmaster tools and other security measures for protecting data. UAE organization has also started the hacking challenge for creating awareness and gaining insight into this field.

Although ethical hacking is necessary for improving one’s resources, it can never be fruitful when it comes to affecting businesses. Most information on hacked sites can’t be retrieved now. But you can take insight from this blog by being aware. As a user do not share details when notifications suddenly pop up on screen. And an owner to not fall into the trap of affordable dealings. They do more harm than good.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What happens when your site gets attacked?

You will notice many changes if your site gets hacked. The hosting control might be modified. The domain name and the servers rights may no longer remain similar. In worst cases, you may not be able to gain access to your username and passcode

2. How to recover my hacked website?

Though recovering entire site is not possible, you can try these methods-

1. Inform the site manager
2. Check the ownership of the site
3. Check notifications and spam in the Search Console
4. Identify the areas that can be fixed
5. Clean your site server

3. Can anyone hack your computer using the IP address?

The IP address is the protocol that every site owner has to follow. Since it is the identification mark, a leaked IP address can create many problems. However, the hacking procedure will totally depend upon your system resources and other measures you have taken previously.

4. What are the symptoms of a hacked site?

There are some signs that show that the account was attacked:

1. The browser may send a warning notification
2. The hosting company may disable the site at once
3. Outbound ports may not function or get blocked.
4. All your emails will move to the spam folder
5. The overall performance of the site will become sluggish
6. New admin users will be created

5. Is there any news regarding hacking in UAE?

Recently, an  Instagram owner residing in Abu Dhabi had to pay $200 to gain access to her account which was hacked while she was replying to messages. She was a traveling blogger and had millions of followers.