Monday, October 12, 2009

SSL Certificates Don't Protect Your Site From Hackers!

Many people confuse SSL certificates with Payment Card Industry (PCI) approved website security scanning. Because of this misunderstanding, website owners and online consumers are not as safe as they think they are.

SSL Certificates only verify that the website is protecting transactions as they travel from the consumer to the appropriate financial institution. Any of the consumer’s personal information saved on the website’s computer (server) is still at risk of being stolen. The website itself is still at risk of being compromised. To make an analogy for you visual thinkers, think of a train station as your website and then think of a train and train tracks as credit card transactions. An active SSL protects the train and the train tracks, but the train station is still vulnerable to attacks.

PCI approved website security scans check for vulnerabilities on websites that could allow attacks from hackers. These vulnerabilities allow hackers to steal online consumer information. They also allow hackers the opportunity to damage or steal website files and even shut the site down.

Another incorrect belief is that non e-commerce websites are not in danger of outside attacks. Even sites seemingly nothing of monetary value have been compromised when hackers redirect traffic, damage files, or even close down the sites. These websites do not need an SSL certificate, but they do need PCI approved vulnerability scanning.

Trust Guard, the leader in website security and verification, performs PCI approved website security scans. According to current statistics, 73% of websites that are scanned by Trust Guard fail their initial scan, according to its president David Brandley. This includes sites that had been previously scanned by other scanning companies. The difference is that Trust Guard scans for twice as many vulnerabilities as their closest competitor.

“Honestly, I was surprised when I found out that almost three out of four websites aren’t safe from outside attacks!” confesses Brandley. “I knew that there were issues with website security, but the problem is worse than I thought it was.”

Once website owners understand that their SSL Certificate does not protect their site from hackers, and therefore purchase scanning services, the next step is to let online consumers visiting their site to know that their site is scanned for vulnerabilities against hackers.

Trust-Guard.com is a division of Global Marketing Strategies. As well as PCI website security scanning, Trust Guard currently provides website Security Scanned Seals. The seal provides peace of mind for online consumers, who know that the website safely transfers their private information, that the site is consistently scanned for vulnerabilities, and that the business will be accessible to them should problems arise.

Tests show that online consumers are more prone to purchase products and services more often from websites that display Trust Guard seals. This is because the shopper feels safe, secure, and confident in the company. To learn more about how website owners can turn more of their online visitors into valued customers with trust seals, please visit www.go.Trust.Guard.com.

3 comments:

  1. This is a very interesting point that a lot of website owners get confused with when conceptulising what a ssl cert does for your website. Only through articles like this can we hope to educate them.

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  2. Web sites are prone to security risks. A website with weak security opens your network to attack and makes data loss more likely. Very informative information about SSL cert. Thanks for Sharing..!

    Website Security

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