Pest Management Professional, May 2017

photo istock com mattjeacock Mobile pmp By Joe Dysart Contributor Detracting the digital imposter I n the latest twist on identity theft hackers are clandestinely taking over business websites and then brazenly billing the customers who visit those sites as if they are their own Under this scenario hackers find a way to break into your website and then take over all the interfaces your business uses to operate that site Simultaneously the hacker also gets access to your business accounts payable and receivables software as well as your email software With all the tools to do business as you in hand the hacker begins cutting deals with your customers via your website instructing them to wire payments for goods and services to a new bank account an account that is owned and operated by the hacker After a few quick deals and lots of laughs the hacker vanishes along with all the cash that has been wired to his or her bank account To ensure your website is not seen by these thieves as low hanging fruit heres what internet security experts say you should do Bulletproof your weBsites dashBoard Your sites dashboard the place where you enter your website authoring software with an ID and password to make changes and updates needs to be ultra secure Start with a strong ID and password by creating both at Random orgs Random Password Generator random org passwords Meanwhile have your site designer add a double authentication requirement for entry into your sites dashboard Many banking customers already have double authentication on their online checking accounts They initially enter an ID and password for their checking account But before they can log in they need to retrieve and enter a special numerical code that the bank sends to their email account for example Create a free GooGle weBmaster aCCount Offering a plethora of free tools for site owners Google Webmaster Google com webmasters can also often detect when your website has been hacked and will inform you of the hack via your account according to Evy Hanson founder of Leap Online Marketing seCure your weBsite folders While all website files and folders should have proper permissions and ownership this basic step often is overlooked Ask your website designer to apply these controls Keep all your weBsite software up to date One of the primary reasons online software companies continually update their software is to plug security holes When they offer an update do it as soon as you can install a firewall on your weBsite A firewall routes web traffic through a separate server determining whether its safe traffic or not before allowing it to go to your website Hanson says This does not cause a delay for the end user Get your desiGner to use https protoCol Technically speaking HTTPS guarantees to users that theyre talking to the server thats hosting the website theyre trying to reach It also guarantees that no one can intercept or change content coming from the website or transactions between the website and website visitor Non profit organization Lets Encrypt helps businesses reduce the cost of the conversion to HTTPS Protocol letsencrypt org about maKe frequent BaCKups The rule of thumb is to back up at your business back up off site and keep a third cold backup off your network or at least a backup that is disconnected from your computer network as soon as its made on a daily basis use a monitorinG serviCe Services like SiteLock sitelock com will monitor your website every day for malware viruses suspicious code attempted break ins and outof date software have a major seCurity talK with your weBsite desiGner Now that youre armed with the above he or she needs to know you consider website security critical to your business PMP DYSART is an internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan Email him at joe@ joedysart com 94 May 2017 Pest Management Professional mypmp net