Over the years, the website has grown to be the prime source of leads for businesses. Your website helps to send out your messages to the target market. The site also helps to capture details of the leads and receives financial information when the prospects buy something on the website. Such useful yet sensitive information can be found in abundance, which leads to several instances of data breaches. And the risk from this menace only seems to rise! Last year, around 540 million user records on Facebook were exposed on the Amazon Cloud Server. Still, security and IT professionals said that their organisation lacked a robust incident response plan. Even small businesses are not spared, with almost 28% of small businesses bearing the brunt of cyberattacks.
How can SSL certificates help?
As the menace of cyberattacks continues to grow unabated, the need for installing SSL certificates also continue to increase. Visitors to a website look for the security certificate before they visit the site. Businesses with multiple sub-domains can choose a Wildcard SSL certificate provider that will help them to deal with cyberattacks proactively.
For
example, RapidSSL Wildcard Certificate provides a cost-effective way to protect
unlimited sub-domains. It proves to be of great value as businesses can have
this certificate issued almost immediately after opting for it. The price
includes unlimited server licenses and extends security for both www and
non-www versions of the root domain.
Benefits of SSL certificates
Enhances visitor trust
You must be aware of the padlock in the address bar that depicts that the website is secure, means such website has an SSL certificate. Web browsers have always tried to excel in providing users with an enhanced experience while browsing.
After an update in 2018, Google Chrome has been marking non-HTTPS websites as “Not Secure”. Such a remark makes the visitors abandon the site right away and never to visit again. In most cases, these visitors land up at the website of your competitor. Some of the certificates also allow businesses to have a site seal that depicts the trustworthiness of the website.
Improves search engine ranking
Search engines like Google prefer to rank secure websites over the insecure ones. With an update in 2014, Google mentioned that they would prefer secure HTTPS websites while ranking for keyword search. Various studies have also shown that safe sites using the HTTPS protocol have consistently ranked higher than the non-HTTPS ones. With the race to be on the first page becoming more intense, it helps in ranking if you are using the HTTPS protocol for your website.
Data protection
An SSL certificate improves the security apparatus of the website by encrypting the communication between the web server and the browser of the visitor. The data can be unlocked only by the intended recipient who has the key to unlock this conversation. If you are storing important and sensitive client information, you must install an SSL certificate as it will provide foolproof protection against hacking attempts.
Most CAs use the best-in-class algorithms like DSA, ECC or RSA that use robust mechanisms and 256-bit encryption mechanisms to protect user data. For websites with multiple sub-domains, ensuring online security for all of them becomes a problem. If you install the RapidSSL Wildcard Certificate, you can rest assured that all sub-domains can be adequately protected against any attempts of a data breach.
Your identity is confirmed
When you install an SSL certificate, you must provide the credentials of your business. Verifying the identity of a website is one of the prime benefits of an SSL certificate. Your site will be validated by a Certification Authority (CA) before you can receive your certificate. The CA will validate you and your organisation based on the type of certificate chosen by you.
Prevent phishing attacks
One of the common cyber frauds is a phishing attack. The hackers send enticing emails that lead the user to a website that looks exactly like a genuine one. Using the website, the hackers can request for your personal information and in some cases, lure you into buying something on this website. However, using an SSL certificate, businesses can ensure that the fraudsters cannot use their reputation to defraud unsuspecting Internet users. Companies need to undergo validation process before installing an SSL certificate. Such validation helps to prevent phishing attacks as only genuine websites can receive the certificate.
Safely accept payments online
The penetration of smartphones and faster bandwidth has led to the phenomenal growth of e-commerce companies. The industry is also the primary target of online fraudsters. To prevent any online fraud, the PCI Security Standards Council maintains and promotes the Payment Cards Industry standards to promote safe online transactions. It is crucial for e-commerce companies as they need to have strict security policies in place in adherence to the PCI-DSS guidelines. The guidelines mandate that all merchants who wish to accept online payments must use the SSL/ TLS certificate.
Conclusion
The internet has been marred by cybercriminals who are always on the prowl to pounce on the unsuspecting. The number of data breaches has been increasing over the years, and the cost of a data breach is immense. It leads to loss of customer trust, lawsuits, and hefty penalties from government authorities. It is where SSL certificates come to your help.
Businesses who operate multiple sub-domains can choose the Wildcard Certificate that acts as the one-stop-shop for securing all the sub-domains together at one go. SSL certificates also have other benefits that we have discussed in this article. We will look forward to your comments and suggestions.
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