Tools used to administer your website need to be secured so that cybercriminals cannot access them and take control of your site, steal data, or install malicious software. Active risk management around identity and access management, along with vendor management, is essential to preventing this risk.
Organizations sometimes focus on securing their network but overlook website security. While there may be no direct connection between your website and internal IT system, cybercriminals see websites as a valuable target. We can refer you to our expert partners who can help you detect existing or potential threats, as well protect your public-facing websites.
Types of web admin tool exposure
Data theft
When web administration tools are exposed to the Internet and not secured, properly, cybercriminals can use brute force attacks to obtain unauthorized access to your website applications and easily steal databases of user information used by the website.
Data scraping
With access to website admin tools, cybercriminals can easily capture sensitive personal data that users provide using the forms on your website.
Website defacement
Websites can be defaced for political, activism, terrorist related reasons, or to add pressure in a cyberextortion attack. Defacing a website may also be a way for a hacker to demonstrate their competency. Cybercriminals can also exploit an established website, making changes that redirect web traffic to a malicious or fraudulent website instead, a tactic often seen in cryptocurrency scams.
Spreading malware
If a cybercriminal can make changes to your website, it’s easy for them to include links that help spread malicious software and expand their range of targets, exploiting the trust that your users place in your website.
Protecting a website against an attack
Manage access
Inventory your web admin tools (content management system, etc.). Put in place appropriate measures for access to them, ensuring that they are not unnecessarily exposed to the Internet. Enforce strong multi-factor authentication (MFA) for admin tool users.
Assessment and patching
The number of services, frameworks, and applications on a web server can make it challenging to ensure that they are patched regularly and successfully. Having a third-party expert independently verify the security health of the website can be very helpful. Also, if your website is managed by a third-party provider, your service agreement with them should specify a definite time period in which they will patch your assets.
Separate collection of personal information
An Iframe (or inline frame) can be used to embed interactive elements onto a webpage so that sensitive information (such as government identification numbers) is stored separately instead of by the website directly. This can limit the information available to a cybercriminal even if the website is compromised.
Use of a content delivery network (CDN)
A CDN can enable the distribution of web content across a larger area, and enhance security. CDNs often have a level of resilience that exceeds the capabilities of most organizations’ security measures. As a result, DDoS attacks are often less effective when targeting websites that have their traffic routed through a CDN.
Whitelisting IP addresses
Restricting access to web admin tools to trusted IP addresses can reduce the risk of unauthorized access
How to respond to a website compromise
Policyholders who experience an actual or suspected website compromise incident should notify us immediately.
Preserve evidence
The first reaction is often to roll back the website to a previous safe version, but that could prevent you from learning what the cybercriminals have done. If this happens, you may have to guess how many individuals have been affected, increasing your response costs and possible third-party claims. Determining the right restoration point can often be a challenge, too. You may undo necessary patches or open the door for further access by the cybercriminals. We recommend that you use experts to help collect the evidence of a compromise and restore the website to a usable state.
Website security is often overlooked, yet cybercriminals target websites as valuable assets. Our experts provide tailored solutions to detect and protect against a range of threats, safeguarding your public-facing websites effectively.
From data theft to malware distribution, web admin tool exposure poses diverse risks to organizations. We have a comprehensive approach that helps organizations fortify their defenses and respond effectively to potential compromises.
