The Aftermath of an Online Attack

If you have a website, whether personal or business, that makes you a potential target for an online attack. After all, cyber crime is at an all time high as hackers can make a living from selling private or corporate data. Some people still don’t take online security seriously – they think that if their website gets damaged they’ll just restore a back up and carry on as normal. But that isn’t the reality of the situation – an online attack can have far reaching repercussions, especially if your website databases include your customers’ private and confidential information, such as their email addresses and credit card details.

It is vital to take website security seriously because an online attack can lead to a loss of revenue and sales. After an online attack, your website can be left non-operational for extended periods. Your website is like a shop window, and if it’s down, customers will not be able to access your website and won’t be buying your products or services.

Likewise, if people see your website has been hacked, why would they trust you with their credit card details, for example, or their address? They won’t buy from you because your reputation has been damaged, and there’s no easy backup you can restore for that. Consider also existing customers who have their details stolen – they’ll be annoyed at you and this even opens up the door for legal battles. Some companies might never recover from such a hit.

Another effect of being victim to an online attack is your Search Engine ranking. It takes a lot of time and hard work to move up in search engine results, such as on Google. Being hacked and having malware on your website can destroy all that hard work. Your site could even end up on the Google Blacklist, and then no one will be visiting your site, yet alone buying from you.

Start your 14-day Acunetix Trial to uncover security vulnerabilities before it is too late. Acunetix also provides advice on to fix any security issues found.

THE AUTHOR

Acunetix

Acunetix developers and tech agents regularly contribute to the blog. All the Acunetix developers come with years of experience in the web security sphere.