09 Sep 2019
Chances are you've heard about some of the massive website and data hacks in recent years. Ranging from Target and Capital One to Equifax and even Home Depot. You’ve heard about customers having their information stolen from e-commerce companies, banks, and more. With so much depending on the security of your facility’s website, it’s important to have an in-depth understanding of how to protect your website and tenants.
According to WebARX, more than 50,000 websites are hacked every day. Some of the most well-known hacks involve customers having their social security numbers, bank account information or passwords stolen. If bank account information is compromised, thousands of dollars can go missing in an instant. In turn, disrupting a family’s life and financial security.
If your facility website is hacked, you are at risk of legal liability, a loss in tenants, and a massive drop in brand trust. No one wants to rent from a facility that can’t keep their credit card information safe if they don’t trust you completely, they will be unlikely to store their valuable items on your property! With nearly your entire business riding on tenant’s trusting your website, keep reading to learn more about how to know if your website is secure.
With more than 43% of cybercrimes being committed against small businesses, it’s more important than ever to have a secure website. If you use a third-party website provider, such as The Storage Group, to manage your website hosting, domain, and security, always make sure that any communication you have with them is secure. If you get an email asking for a password, do not provide it over email. Check the email address carefully if something does not look right. Oftentimes hackers will create fake emails that are nearly identical to the real email address from a sender you know and trust.
Hackers know that tricking you with fake emails and phone calls is the easiest way to gain access to an account. This becomes an easy first step to take in order to keep your website secure and in your control.
If your website host/provider doesn’t have your facility on HTTPS, be sure to ask for it as soon as possible. If your website is on HTTPS protocol, a small lock signal will show up on the browser assuring website visitors that they are on a website that is securely connected to the correct server.
While this can sound like a lot of complicated technology buzzwords, not having HTTPS means that website visitors will instead see a ‘not secure’ icon, as pictured below. Half of potential website visitors have a bad reaction to seeing the ‘not secure’ icon, with 64% leaving the website immediately. Why take the risk of losing so many potential tenants? By adopting HTTPS protocol, not only will your website be more secure, but tenants will be able to tell you’ve made significant efforts to secure their information and create brand trust. 
With regards to your facility’s online rental tool, having a SSL Certificate (shown below) will indicate to tenants that their credit card and personal information is secure. Without this certificate, a ‘not secure’ symbol will appear, similar to websites without HTTPS protocol.
On average, industry experts recommend that your website is redesigned and upgraded to reflect any new design and security features every 3 years. If your website is nearing that timeline, it’s worth scheduling a meeting with your website provider to get their feedback on whether your facility website needs any changes. Sometimes, website providers need to upgrade internal software to keep it secure, which may not be possible unless you have a modern website. A modern website will do more than keep tenants secure. If it’s professionally built, it can also help increase lead generation, conversions, and overall occupancy. Don’t let your website be a liability. Make it an asset!
Interested in learning more about website security? Reach out to StorageAuctions.com Director of Sales, Jill Baker at jbaker@storagegroupinc.com or call (407) 392-2328 x 113.
