Can You Spot the Signs of a Hacked Website?

The Importance of Protecting our Businesses

As business owners and employees, it’s important we are aware of the responsibilities we hold in terms of how we oversee, manage and maintain our business websites.

One of those responsibilities include spotting signs of a hacked website. You don’t have to be a cybersecurity expert to spot the signs somethings wrong!

At Speedster IT as cyber security experts, we have put together a list of reasons why hackers are increasingly attacking UK business websites and the symptoms to look out for.

Hackers Target UK Business Websites for Several Reasons

• Stealing personal information: Hackers may inject malicious content into your site to steal personal info, redirect visitors, or spread malware via drive-by attacks using malware droppers.
• Conducting negative SEO attacks: Hackers might create hidden pages for SEO spam or insert links into existing posts, styled so they don’t look like links.
• Spreading malware: Hackers can use your website to spread malware, which can infect your visitors’ devices and cause further damage.
• Financial gain: Cybercriminals often target businesses to steal data that can be sold or used for financial gain. This includes sensitive customer information, payment details, and intellectual property.
• Ransomware attacks: Businesses in the UK are particularly susceptible to ransomware attacks, where hackers encrypt data and demand a ransom for its release.
• Business espionage: Hackers may target businesses to gain a competitive advantage by stealing trade secrets or confidential information.
• Email lists: Hackers target websites to gain access to email lists, which they can use for spamming promotional materials.
• Low security: Small businesses often have fewer security measures in place, making them easier targets for hackers.
• Affiliation with larger businesses: SMEs may be targeted because they are subcontractors or affiliated with larger businesses, making them a gateway to more valuable targets.

Common Signs of a Hacked Website

• Malicious content that only shows up for certain users.
• Hidden pages created for SEO spam, spikes in google insight traffic
• Sneaky ads (that you didn’t place) that are hidden from site admins.
• Inserting links into existing posts and styled so they don’t look like links.
• Injecting malicious content into your site to steal personal info, redirect visitors, or spread malware via drive-by attacks using malware droppers.
• Google Safe Browsing warnings appear when Google detects harmful content on your site, indicating a possible hack.
• Spam pages are created by hackers to exploit your site’s SEO and drive traffic to their own malicious sites.
• Unusual spikes in traffic can occur when hackers use your site for malicious activities, such as DDoS attacks.
• Changes to your site’s appearance or content happen when hackers deface your site to display their own messages or content.
• Warnings from your web host indicate that your site may be compromised and hosting malicious content.
• Suspicious activity in your site’s logs or analytics can reveal unauthorized access or unusual behaviour by hackers.
• Unusual server activity might indicate that hackers are using your server resources for their own purposes.
• New user accounts created without your knowledge suggest that hackers have gained access to your site.
• Unfamiliar files or scripts on your server can be a sign that hackers have uploaded malicious code.
• Website slowdown can occur when hackers use your site for resource-intensive activities like cryptocurrency mining.
• Emails from your website being marked as spam may indicate that hackers are using your site to send spam emails.
• Your website being blacklisted happens when security services detect malicious activity on your site.

By understanding these motives, and signs of a hacked website, business owners and employees can keep an eye and take proactive steps to protect their websites and sensitive information from cyber threats.

How Can I Detect if my Website Gets Hacked?

We can all play a part in detecting if our business websites which are under threat. Employees and business owners can help monitor their business websites daily by regularly checking forUnusual Activities.

The Importance of SEO Professionals in Spotting Hacking Vulnerabilities

If you have an SEO professional looking after your website, this can be a great way to daily monitor analytics and your site CMS for unusual activity.

SEO professionals play a crucial role in maintaining the security of your business website. Their expertise in monitoring website traffic, analysing search engine rankings, and identifying unusual patterns makes them invaluable in detecting potential hacking vulnerabilities.

By regularly reviewing site performance and conducting thorough audits, SEO professionals can spot signs of malicious activity early on, such as sudden drops in rankings, unexpected redirects, or the presence of spammy content.

Prioritizing the involvement of SEO experts in your website’s security strategy ensures that any vulnerabilities are quickly identified and addressed, helping to protect your business from potential cyber threats.

It’s also vital for businesses to have a reporting procedure in place to escalate any suspected issues before they cause significant damage.

If you outsource your SEO efforts, it’s worth having a chat with your team to see how they can implement a vulnerability reporting protocol for your business website, so that any suspected security issues are addressed promptly.

This proactive approach ensures that your website remains secure, and any threats are mitigated swiftly.

The Importance of Automated Monitoring & Scanning of Business Websites

Automated monitoring and scanning can be a lifesaver when it comes to detecting all the signs of a hacked website. At the minimum, your website should scan the following daily:

1. SSL certificates
2. Cross site scripting.
3. SQL injection.
4. Do a daily file + database backup.

By staying vigilant and proactive, businesses can better protect their websites from hacking attempts.

WatchGuard offers a wide range of network security solutions, and their fireboxes and endpoint protection are an excellent choice for businesses looking to enhance their website security.

How Everyday Staff Can Help Spot Hacking Vulnerabilities

Even without access to a site’s CMS, business members can still play a crucial role in spotting signs of website hacking. Here are some ways they can help:

1. Monitor Website Appearance: Regularly check the website for any unexpected changes in content, layout, or design. If something looks off, it could be a sign of hacking.
2. Check for Pop-ups and Ads: Be on the lookout for unusual pop-ups or ads that weren’t there before. These can be injected by hackers to generate revenue or spread malware.
3. Report Unusual Behaviour: If the website is loading slowly or behaving erratically, it could be due to malicious activities like DDoS attacks or resource-intensive processes such as cryptocurrency mining.
4. Listen to Customer Feedback: Pay attention to any complaints or reports from customers about strange redirects, spam emails, or warnings from their browsers when visiting the site.
5. Use Public Tools: Utilize free online tools to scan the website for malware or security issues. These tools can provide a quick check for any obvious signs of hacking.
6. Stay Informed: Keep up-to-date with the latest security threats and trends. Awareness of common hacking techniques can help in identifying potential issues early on.

Here are some free online tools that business members can use to scan their websites for malware or security issues:

1. Sucuri SiteCheck: This tool scans your website for known malware, viruses, blacklisting status, website errors, out-of-date software, and malicious code.
2. Qualys SSL Labs: This tool scans your website for misconfiguration and vulnerabilities related to SSL/TLS.

Can You Get a Perfect Score on Spotting a Hacked Site?

We have put together some questions that you can use to help train staff on what to look for.

How can you prevent your website from being hacked?

1. Keep your site & plugins up to date
2. Use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication
3. Regularly scan your site for malware
4. All of the above

How might a hacked website affect your site’s performance?

1. It will have no effect on performance
2. It could experience slowdowns or outages due to malicious activities
3. It will always improve performance
4. It might run faster due to optimized scripts

Which of the following is a common symptom of a hacked WordPress site in the site’s content?

1. Removal of old posts
2. Improved design and layout
3. New pages or posts with content or links you don’t recognize
4. Increase in website speed

Answers: D, B, C

How Speedster IT Can Help with Cyber Security Training

Speedster IT offers comprehensive cyber security training for employees as part of your plan to mitigate cyber security website risks.

Our training programs are designed to educate business owners and employees on the latest cyber threats and best practices for protecting your website.

By participating in our training sessions, your team will learn how to identify signs of a hacked website, understand the motives behind cyber-attacks, and implement effective security measures to safeguard your online presence.

With Speedster IT’s expert guidance, you can ensure that your business is well-prepared to defend against cyber threats and maintain a secure website environment.