The time that stands between the advent of the world wide web and this precise moment in history represents an unbroken chain of evolution for cybersecurity threats.
Afterall, the internet offers a near-endless selection of highly lucrative opportunities for those willing to resort to malicious, opportunistic, and potentially devastating measures. From individuals to global corporations, the passing back-and-forth of sensitive data like bank details, personal addresses, passcodes, and cell phone numbers has quickly come to define almost every interaction we make online – a fact which can, without due care and attention, cause monumental issues for anyone affected.
As a public-facing brand, your responsibility to protect and curtail your usage of your client’s sensitive information is more significant than ever before. Following a number of high-profile and, admittedly, catastrophic data breaches in 2020, online shoppers are growing increasingly discerning about how they share their data and what companies seek to do with it.
As such, any brand looking to pursue a digital presence in 2021 – whether you own an existing brand and are now looking to embrace a new interest in eCommerce or an SME hoping to reach out to new, prospective clients via the internet – should ensure that they are addressing any and all cybersecurity concerns that could impact their experience online. Read more below.
Firstly, Know That Strong Security Begins with the Foundations
When it comes to creating your website, no element can be left to chance. From SSL certification to ensuring that your site host offers round-the-clock client support, good security practices begin from the moment you begin the process of building a website.
Of course, as a business owner, you can take additional measures to ensure that your site consistently maintains rigorous security practices. Still, unless you are an expert in all matters pertaining to creating, maintaining, and protecting a website, you will need to trust those who are.
Of course, the most effective way to do this is to opt for an integrated platform, wherein the creation, hosting, and maintenance of your site all fall under one consolidated roof. When you are ready to buy a domain for your business, opting to register it via a website builder equipped to simplify the process of creating and developing a website to a high standard will pay dividends now and in the long run.
Next, Understand the Threats that Are Out There
Many of us are constantly conscious that our cybersecurity and online privacy are subject to continued malicious efforts – whether we receive individual phishing emails to our personal addresses or a full-scale attack launched at our company’s private server. Still, despite this ongoing awareness, many of us think of the landscape of cyber threats in abstraction rather than with the clarity and comprehension we need to keep ourselves and others as safe as possible.
The only answer to this is to get more proactive about hunting down the answers to our questions. Why do hackers want our personal data? How could it hurt me/us? And, of course, most importantly of all: what new measures are they pursuing to stand a chance of overcoming those existing roadblocks that were designed to keep internet users safe?
Understanding the world of cyber threats represents an ongoing commitment to yourself, your brand’s online reputation, and your growing list of online customers. It is, however, the only way to ensure that you are not rendered highly vulnerable to attacks that can and do happen to online businesses every year.
Finally, Know that, in the Long Run, it is About More than Action
We can deploy every single advanced security and data protection measure under the sun – request the bare minimum from our customers in terms of sensitive data, and, of course, adhere rigidly to the most up-to-date understanding of the evolving landscape of cybercrime – but it will not offer the greatest benefit to your business until you understand how to convey those details to the public.
That’s not to say that your site should offer a full, thorough, technically proficient breakdown of every single security measure you have put in place to keep them safe, far from it. That would be a waste of your time and prove wholly uninteresting to customers.
Rather, as a brand you should adopt a philosophy of transparency. More than ever before, consumers want to be treated to full transparency on a range of topics, from the ingredients used in a particular brand’s skincare to the ways in which they wield their sensitive data.
Striking a balance between transparency and oversharing for the sake of it is not always easy. Still, it will offer a significant and beneficial boost to your brand’s sense of personability.
