One of the more flexible and effective ways of hacking into a system is with a URL redirection attack.

You may have come across an attack like this before. After all, they are frequently used. But here’s one example so you can understand what an attack looks like.

A hacker sends out what is called a “phishing email”. This is an email designed to look like it comes from a trusted company, like eBay, for example. It tells the recipient that there is a problem with their account and they need to log in and confirm payment information.

Because it appears to be legitimate, a user might have no problem clicking on the link – it’s an eBay link, after all! But what they don’t realize is that it is not an eBay link. The URL takes them to a malicious website with forms that will record the personal information requested.

A user thinks they are interacting with an established company that already has this information, so they provide it again. What they don’t realize is they have just unlocked their money to a hacker, who will empty out their accounts.

Even if you are smart enough to tell the difference between a legitimate email from a company and a phishing attack, others might use your business identity to attack your past customers.

Your website’s health and security are paramount to the health of your business. You need to be proactive in preventing URL redirection attacks and stopping them in their tracks if they are detected.

How you can stop URL redirection attacks

You might be tempted to think that this type of sophisticated attack is impossible to stop. And while stopping cybercriminals can be tricky as both sides try to stay ahead of the other, it also doesn’t need to be a difficult or time-consuming activity for you.

Here are three ways you can protect your site from being used in a URL attack:

1. Use a firewall. Firewalls have been around for ages. In the simplest sense, a firewall is a layer of protection between the outside world and your machine –

or in this case, your website’s server. A web application firewall, such as Secitgo Web Firewall – would be your first line of defense: the wall with the moat around your castle. Most common attacks would be stopped by the firewall, and they can provide detailed security reports as well. These reports can alert you to any suspicious activity.

1. Use a scanner like Web Clean. Sectigo Web Clean offers peace of mind against URL attacks. With its constantly-updated database of threats and weaknesses, Web Clean will scan your site every day and inspect its code to be sure that your site is patched and cleaned – preventing attacks from getting out of control before they develop.
2. Keep your website up-to-date. If your web host doesn’t offer automatic updating, then you need to get this on your schedule to be done regularly. Outdated code is one of the most common ways hackers can get access to a website. By keeping your site updated – including any plugins or other third-party software you have installed – you can mitigate threats before they hit your system (or your customers, for that matter). Sectigo Web Patch will do this automatically for you.

The landscape of cybercrime is changing every single day. Keeping up on your own can be a challenge, even for the experienced site owner. By setting up Sectigo Web, you can partner up with a sophisticated cybersecurity company that will make your safety and security its top priority – so that cybercriminals can’t take advantage of you or your customers.