It is easy to put site security low on your priority list, especially when you are first setting up a new site, moving or changing your existing school site. Often, we are so fascinated by aesthetics, navigation, content, calls to action, functionality, etc. that we forget how important security really is. However, it is important for schools to understand that they have every reason to worry about security just like larger organizations.
You may see new headlines about cyberattacks on brands like Microsoft, Zoom, Magellan Health and Nintendo, but that’s just because schools do not always justify media coverage. In fact, schools were hit harder than any other industry in 2020, at an average cost $ 2.73 million per ransomware attack. There has been a large increase in hacking to school sites since the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic. In fact, from November 6 to December 6, 2021 educational organizations were the target of 7.58 million malware attacks, Or 62 percent of all these attacks. unfortunately, 1,681 schools, colleges and universities in the US Affected in 2020.
School sites are vulnerable to cyber attacks so it is important that you understand how to protect your school site from hacking. Here are 10 recommended security methods to apply to ensure the safety of your site.
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Install SSL certificate
One of the easiest things you can do to protect your site is to install a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. SSL encrypts information that passes between your site and your visitors. Your web host provider should offer SSL certificates, which you will have to pay for, but it’s worth it for the higher level of security.
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Keep the software up to date
Software with known vulnerabilities is one of the easiest ways for hackers to hack into your site and compromise your system. Do not click the “Remind Me Later” button when your software is ready to update; Instead, update your site regularly to minimize security risks.
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Enable regular backups
Creating backups of your site ensures that you have an older version of your site in case your site is hacked. A backup is basically a copy of your site data, including databases, content, media and files. If you have a large website you need a large amount of backup storage to store all your data.
There are several ways you can back up your site. You can use a backup service to do the work for you, or you can search for web hosts that include backups or offer them as an add-on. There are also WordPress plugins that you can upload, such as UpdraftPlus or VaultPress.
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Make your passwords non-hackable
While this may seem obvious, not everyone uses a secure password or updates it frequently. The best passwords are those offered by your computer. Yes, I know, you can not remember them. That’s why I suggest you use a password manager like Last pass or 1 Password To help you store and track your passwords.
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Get notified if your site crashes
Almost all sites go down at one point or another. Even big sites like Google, Twitter and Facebook go down sometimes. The important thing is how fast you are able to respond to your site’s decline and fix it.
One action time monitoring program you may want to consider is Fingdom. One of the great features of Pingdom is the ability to monitor your site from different countries so you know if your servers are not accessible overseas, even if it seems to work in the US
Pingdom provides statistical reports over time. This can help you know if you need to contact your hosting provider or switch to a new provider.
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Get notified if your site is hacked
Unfortunately, malicious attacks on educational websites are common. Hackers create malware (malware) that they install on visitors’ devices without their knowledge. Malware tries to hack into personal data or harm devices.
The Google Search Console is one of the best ways to get notified if your site is hacked.
Read more here: Central Google search malware and unwanted software
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Follow your links
Links are important for search engine optimization (SEO), and often if a high-authority link is broken, you may lower your rankings in search results. Unless you regularly monitor your inbound links, it’s almost impossible to tell if your links are broken.
An easy way to test your links is to use the Chrome extension Check out my links, Which crawls your web pages and detects broken links. Another great tool is LinkChecker.pro, Which offers additional features such as whether the link has been changed to nofollow or canonized to another URL.
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Track bot traffic
Malicious bot traffic can pose a serious threat. A sudden increase in bot traffic can be a sign of a DDoS attack. DDoS stands for “Distributed Service Denial”. A DDoS attack is when bots ask for more than a server can handle, causing the site to crash.
A bot attack can slow down or shut down your site, indicate content scraping or data theft. Fantasy Is a tool you can use to monitor bot traffic as well as locate attack sources.
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Keep track of school mentions
Tracking whenever someone mentions your school name is critical to keeping track of what’s happening on your site and in your marketing. Your active families will most likely let you know if something is wrong. Usually, someone will say something if your site is down, a page appears hacked or something is not working properly on your site.
School citation monitoring will help you fix problems quickly because you can spot a problem in a timely manner, reply to your user so they know you are working on the topic and allow you to transfer calls from a public view to a private message.
You can set up easily Google Alerts Or use mention Which is a freemium app for monitoring mentions.
Read more: 10 tools to use to monitor your school’s online presence
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Invest in anti-malware software
Anti-malware software will monitor and detect threats, alert and remove threats from your site. Anti-malware software may seem expensive, but when you consider the damage that a cyber attack can cost you in terms of stolen data, loss of trust and downtime of your site, it is definitely worth the investment.
Popular options for anti-malware software include Sucuri, Maintaining the site and Diameter. Most web hosting platforms offer anti-malware software as an additional feature.
With the rise of cyber security attacks, it is important for schools to run a data and security monitoring program that describes how your team will create systems to implement cyber security protocols. It is also important to train and educate your staff on secure password protocols as well as how to identify suspicious emails. As cybercrime continues to evolve and schools share more information online, it is vital to create protocols to ensure your site remains safe and secure.
What security protocols do you have to protect your school website? What should be added to this list? Please comment below …