The number of cyber attacks is constantly growing. They have become intelligent and sophisticated, making it harder for us to notice them on time. Now, the truth is that businesses and larger sites are usually major hackers’ targets. Still, this doesn’t mean that your tiny, sweet blog is off their radar. Unsurprisingly, to protect it, you need to tighten its security.
But, what happens if you get hacked?
The majority of bloggers that get hacked don’t take their blog security seriously. Unfortunately, the mere fact that your blog lacks a proper hosting plan, security software, or strong passwords may make you an easy target.
Still, why would a hacker choose your blog, when there are millions of similar sites in this overcrowded digital landscape? Well, the reasons are multiple, from malvertising and identity theft to vandalizing your blog just for fun.
Here are a few types of blog hacks that will help you understand hackers’ intentions:
Going through a cyberattack is definitely stressful. However, you need to stay focused and react fast in order to protect your blog and restore your blog security at an adequate level. Here are a few immediate steps you need to take the moment you notice that something odd is going on with it:
When talking about the consequences of cybersecurity, the first thing that comes to our mind is its costs. And, that’s true. You will have to invest in numerous tools to bring back your blog’s functionality, restore lost SEO rankings, and boost your overall online protection.
Still, there are some additional, hidden costs of a cyberattack you’re probably not considering right now.
In today’s overcrowded digital ecosystem, where there are numerous blogs similar to yours, building a reputable and authoritative online image is a necessity. To rise above this noise and position yourself as a relevant source of information, you need to connect with the right audience, write exceptional content and, above all, build a strong, growing online community. Sadly, even a minor cyberattack can destroy everything you’ve been working on in the blink of an eye. People will soon start leaving your mailing list and never come back to your blog again. Once your trust is lost, it’s hard to regain it.
If there are any malicious links or redirects on your site, your SEO efforts will suffer. Your traffic and conversion will drop, while your bounce rates will skyrocket, meaning that regaining your rankings will be a challenge. Worse yet, if Google notices some suspicious activities on your blog, it may even decide to penalize your site.
When your site is down, your operations will suffer. You won’t be able to provide your readers with the content they expect and the consistency of your blog will be ruined.
Today, you can make money blogging in numerous ways. You can add affiliate links to your content, sell digital products, place ads on your blog, and so forth. And, after going through a hack, your blog may not be seen as an ideal place for businesses to promote themselves on.
Surviving a hack doesn’t make your blog stronger if you don’t take some actionable steps to protect it in the future. Here is what you need to do to increase your blog security:
Even some leading companies like Yahoo, Adobe, Equifax, or Target can get hacked. So, falling victim of a cyber attack is not entirely your fault. You need to do everything in your power to protect your blog from hackers and, if this still doesn’t help, don’t panic. Change your passwords immediately, ask your hosting provider for help, run thorough scans, and keep increasing your blog security.