if you are building a website and want to publish it to the public to be accessed from the internet, you would need a web hosting service to host your website files and data.
But,
Your web hosting provider is the foundation of that website. But here’s a startling statistic:
According to a recent study, there are more than 2,220 cyberattacks occur each day. That’s one website every 39 seconds.
- Are you confident your digital fortress can withstand such relentless attacks?
- how secure would you want that hosting service to be?
Understanding and prioritizing security features for websites is no longer optional—it’s essential.
So, let’s discuss the top security features you should look for when choosing a web hosting provider.
Key takeaways
1. SSL Certificate:
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates are a fundamental security feature that every website should have. They create an encrypted connection between a user’s browser and your website’s server, ensuring that any data transmitted remains private and secure.
When a user visits a website with an SSL certificate, their browser initiates a “handshake” with the server. This process verifies the website’s identity and establishes an encrypted connection.
Once set up, all data sent between the browser and the server is encrypted, making it difficult for hackers to intercept or tamper with the information.
SSL certificates are crucial for several reasons:
They safeguard sensitive information like login credentials and payment details
Provide SEO benefits as Google gives a ranking boost to websites with HTTPS
Build user trust through visual indicators like the padlock icon in browsers.
Additionally, many data protection regulations require SSL for handling personal information.
There are several types of SSL certificates available, each offering different levels of validation:
- Domain Validated (DV): The most basic type, verifying domain ownership.
- Organization Validated (OV): Provides more trust by verifying some information about the organization.
- Extended Validation (EV): The highest level of validation, requiring thorough vetting of the organization.
It’s also worth mentioning that major and most-used browsers show a warning sign when a user tries to access a website that has no SSL certificate installed.
Luckily, most web hosts offer the basic Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for free.
When choosing a hosting provider, look for one that offers free SSL certificates with easy installation and, ideally, auto-renewal to prevent lapses in coverage.
2. Firewalls:
A firewall acts as a barrier between your website and potential threats from the internet. It monitors incoming and outgoing traffic based on predetermined security rules, blocking potentially harmful data while allowing legitimate traffic through.
Firewalls come in different types, including network firewalls that protect entire networks and Web Application Firewalls (WAF) specifically designed to protect web applications from common attacks.
Firewalls are your first line of defense against various cyber attacks, including SQL injection attempts, cross-site scripting (XSS), Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, and unauthorized access attempts.
Features to look for in a firewall solution include:
- Intrusion Detection System (IDS): Monitors network traffic for suspicious activity.
- Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Automatically takes action to prevent detected threats.
- IP blocking: Ability to block traffic from specific IP addresses or regions known for malicious activity.
- Deep packet inspection: Analyzes the content of network packets to identify and block threats.
Many web hosting providers now provide firewalls powered by Cloudflare.
When selecting a hosting provider, look if they offer any kind of firewalls or WAF, network and/or web application firewalls.
3. Regular Backups:
Backups are copies of your website’s files and databases stored separately from your live site. They are crucial for disaster recovery and maintaining business continuity.
Backups serve as your safety net against various scenarios, including hacking attempts that damage or alter your site, accidental deletion of important files or data, failed updates or plugin conflicts, and hardware failures at the hosting provider.
Frequency is paramount when it comes to backups. Daily backups are ideal for most websites, but high-traffic or frequently updated sites may require more frequent backups.
The retention period, or how long backups are kept, is also important. Longer retention periods allow you to restore from older versions if needed, which can be crucial in certain scenarios.
Off-site storage is another critical factor. Backups should be stored in a different physical location from your main website to protect against localized disasters or hardware failures.
Additionally, all backups should be encrypted to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access.
When choosing a hosting provider, look for one that offers automated daily backups, easy one-click restore options, the ability to download backups to your local machine, and the option to create manual backups before making significant changes.
4. Malware Scanning and Removal
Malware (malicious software) can infect websites in various ways, often without the owner’s knowledge.
Regular scanning and prompt removal are essential for maintaining a clean, secure website.
Malware comes in many forms such as viruses, trojans, ransomware, spyware, and rootkits, each with its own methods of infection and potential for damage.
Real-time monitoring is also crucial, as it allows for immediate detection of suspicious activities or file changes.
When potential threats are detected, a good system should be able to quarantine suspected malicious files for further analysis.
Equally important are the tools for removing detected malware. Your hosting provider should offer the ability to clean infected files or remove malware entirely.
Additionally, the malware detection system should have regular update mechanisms to keep malware definitions current, ensuring protection against new and emerging threats.
The consequences of a malware infection can be severe. They include data theft, website defacement, search engine penalties, and the potential for your site to be used in further attacks.
When evaluating hosting providers, seek one that offers integrated malware scanning tools and plugins, regular automated scans, or professional malware removal services.
5. DDoS Protection
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks attempt to overwhelm a website or server with a flood of traffic from multiple sources, rendering it inaccessible to legitimate users.
These attacks can vary in type and scale, from simple volume-based attacks to more sophisticated application layer attacks.
DDoS attacks can lead to website downtime and increased hosting costs, and can even be used as a smokescreen for other types of attacks.
Effective DDoS protection involves several key components:
- Traffic analysis to identify patterns indicative of DDoS attacks
- Rate limiting to restrict the number of requests a server will accept
- IP reputation checking to block traffic from known malicious IP addresses
- Scalable infrastructure to handle sudden traffic spikes
- Traffic rerouting to divert attack traffic away from the target server
Many web hosting providers now offer DDoS protection from Cloudflare.
When choosing a hosting provider, look for one that offers a great DDoS protection that can handle various attack sizes, and detailed reporting on blocked attacks.
6. Physical Security
While often overlooked, the physical security of data centers is crucial for overall website security. It prevents unauthorized access to the actual hardware storing your website and data.
Physical security protects against data theft through physical access to servers, hardware tampering or theft, damage from environmental factors, and extended downtime due to physical disasters.
When evaluating hosting providers, choose one that has a good reputation over their hsitory, holds relevant certifications (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC 2), provides transparency about their physical security practices, and offers redundancy across multiple data centers for critical services.
7. Regular Security Updates
Software used in web hosting environments, including operating systems, control panels, and server applications, requires regular updates to patch security vulnerabilities.
A systematic approach to applying software updates, known as patch management, is crucial for maintaining a secure hosting environment.
Regular updates are important because they patch known vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers, often include performance improvements and new features, and ensure compliance with current security standards.
Outdated software may not only be vulnerable but also non-compliant with security regulations.
- When choosing a hosting provider, look for one that continuously updates they software with a clear policy on applying security updates, offers managed hosting options where they handle all updates, provides tools for you to easily update your own applications and CMS, and communicates proactively about critical updates and potential vulnerabilities.
8. Email Security
For hosting packages that include email services, robust email security features are essential to protect against various email-based threats.
These threats include spam, phishing attempts, and malware distribution through email attachments.
Email security is crucial because email is a primary vector for malware distribution and phishing attacks.
Compromised email accounts can be used to spread spam or malware, and sensitive information is often transmitted via email.
Email-based attacks can also lead to broader network compromises.
Email security features to look for:
- Spam filtering: Identifying and blocking unwanted bulk emails
- Phishing protection: Detecting and alerting users to potential phishing attempts
- Email encryption: Securing the contents of emails in transit and at rest
- Attachment scanning: Checking email attachments for malware
- Sender Policy Framework (SPF): Verifying the legitimacy of email senders
- Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM): Cryptographically signing emails to verify their origin
Choose a hosting provider that offers comprehensive spam and malware filtering, support for email encryption protocols (e.g., TLS), tools for implementing SPF and DKIM, and easy-to-use interfaces for managing email security settings.
9. Isolation of User Accounts
In shared hosting environments, proper isolation between user accounts is essential to prevent issues with one account from affecting others.
Proper isolation is important because it prevents security breaches from spreading between accounts, ensures fair resource allocation, maintains privacy and data integrity for each account, and limits the potential damage from a compromised account.
Account isolation includes:
- File system isolation: Ensuring users can’t access each other’s files
- Process isolation: Preventing one user’s processes from impacting others
- Resource allocation: Fair distribution of server resources (CPU, RAM, etc.)
- Network isolation: Separating network traffic between different accounts
When selecting a hosting provider, opt for one that uses modern containerization or virtualization technologies, offers detailed information about their isolation practices, provides options for upgrading to VPS or dedicated hosting for more isolation, and has a track record of effectively managing shared hosting environments.
10. VPS, Cloud, or Dedicated Hosting Options
While shared hosting is a common and cost-effective option, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), Cloud, and Dedicated hosting provide more security through isolation.
These options give you a dedicated portion or an entire server, separating your resources from other users.
Benefits include:
- Resource isolation: Your CPU, RAM, and storage are not shared with other websites
- Customization: Greater control over server configuration and security settings
- Improved performance: Dedicated resources often result in faster load times
- Scalability: Easily upgrade resources as your needs grow
When considering a hosting provider, look for one that offers a clear upgrade path from shared hosting to VPS or dedicated options, allowing your hosting solution to evolve with your security needs.
Read: Best Cloud Hosting Services
11. CDN Integration
While primarily known for improving website performance, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) also provide significant security benefits.
A CDN distributes your website content across multiple, geographically diverse servers.
CDNs are valuable for websites with a global audience or those that are frequent targets of DDoS attacks. They not only improve your website’s security but also enhance its speed and reliability.
Security advantages of CDNs include:
- DDoS mitigation: Can absorb and disperse large volumes of traffic, helping to prevent DDoS attacks
- SSL/TLS encryption: Many CDNs provide SSL/TLS encryption, adding an extra layer of security
- Web application firewall: Some CDNs include WAF functionality
- Bot protection: This can help identify and block malicious bot traffic
When choosing a hosting provider, consider those that offer built-in CDN services or easy integration with popular CDN providers.
Read: Benefits of Using CDN with Your Website Hosting Service
12. IP Address Deny/Allow Lists
IP address deny/allow lists (also known as blacklists and whitelists) are powerful tools for controlling access to your website or specific parts of it.
This feature allows you to specify which IP addresses or ranges can access your site or certain areas like the admin panel.
This feature is useful for protecting sensitive areas of your website, such as admin panels or member-only sections. It can reduce the risk of unauthorized access attempts and brute force attacks.
Look for hosting providers that offer easy-to-use tools for managing IP restrictions, ideally with both manual controls and automated threat-based updates.
13. Database Security Features
Databases often contain the most sensitive information on a website, making database security a critical concern.
Robust database security features protect against unauthorized access, data breaches, and data corruption.
It is important for websites handling sensitive user data, financial information, or other confidential content.
Important database security features include:
- Encryption at rest: Data is encrypted when stored, protecting it if the physical storage is compromised
- Secure connections: Enforcing encrypted connections between the database and application
- Access controls: Granular permissions to restrict database access to only necessary users and processes
- Regular backups: Automated, encrypted backups to protect against data loss
- Auditing: Logging of all database activities for security analysis
When evaluating hosting providers, look for those with a good reputation on this aspect, offer database security features, and support for various database management systems.
Conclusion
Selecting a web hosting provider with robust security features is important for protecting your website, your data, and your users.
While this list covers many important security aspects, it’s important to remember that the cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving.
When evaluating potential hosting providers, don’t hesitate to reach out to them and ask detailed questions about their security practices.
Remember, while your hosting provider plays a big role in website security, it’s also important to maintain good security practices on your end, such as using strong, unique passwords, keeping your content management system and plugins up-to-date, and educating yourself and your team about common security threats.
