By Dennis Hung
An effective digital marketing strategy requires a considerable investment of your time, effort, and resources. As a savvy marketer, you need to carry out market research, determine your audience, build an online presence, develop content, and execute strategies for customer acquisition and retention. In the midst of all these things, it is easy to forget the importance of web security in online marketing. It is the role of every marketer to identify potential security risks to the business and come up with ways to mitigate them. Here are some of the tools that you can utilize to improve web security in digital marketing.
Firewall and Anti-Malware Software
When using your computers and networks for marketing, your primary concern should be keeping information safe from unauthorized users. Hackers have devised techniques of getting into systems and accessing valuable information without the knowledge of marketers or IT team. Research indicates that there were 3 billion malware attacks worldwide in 2010. Malicious software can be installed in computers to record keystrokes, emails, and passwords which are sent back to the hackers.
Once a hacker takes over your system, they may ask for money to release the hijacked resources. In other cases, they infect your website ads or newsletters and hack into your customers’ computer as well for personal and financial information. Protect your systems by installing the best firewall and anti-malware software possible. Make sure that the IT team keeps the software updated to prevent vulnerabilities in the system.
Data Leakage Protection Tools
In today’s world, businesses have embraced computers, the Internet, and software solutions to ease manual paperwork and promote efficiency in their operations. Marketers are utilizing these tools to obtain and store critical marketing information about the business and consumers. End users can accidentally or maliciously share such information and put the organization at risk. You need to prevent the disclosure of confidential data to protect the business and its customers.
Invest in enterprise data loss prevention and monitoring software to mitigate the risks associated with unauthorized disclosure of critical data. The software controls what data end users can transfer, monitors their activities, and filters data streams in the network. Besides employing DLP software, ensure that the employees are trained on data loss policies to prevent cases of data breaches within the organization.
SSL Technology
E-commerce has made it easy for businesses to allow online transactions with their customers. Firms also make online payments for advertisements, business software, and other products. Hackers are always waiting to capture credit card and personal information from online shoppers. Once they get your info, they can infect your computer with keylogging spyware which captures data as you log into your payment accounts. They then access your details or those of your customers and carry out identity theft.
You should take precautions to ensure that you provide customers with a secure payment method. Employ the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology in your website. SSL encryption ensures that any financial information your clients feed on the site is encrypted and safe from transaction thieves and hackers. Also, avoid using online payment platforms that don’t utilize SSL technology as they could leak your credit card details.
Social Media Monitoring Tool
Social media marketing poses the threat of brand hijacking for most businesses. This is where scammers hack into your social accounts and post offensive content, false information, and send infected links to your followers. Such chaos can damage the brand’s reputation and hamper your marketing efforts. Protect your social accounts from hackers by utilizing strong passwords and two-step authentication procedures. Also, invest in a social media monitoring tool that allows real-time tracking of your brand mentions. This way, you can spot malicious behavior and manage it before it causes damage to the enterprise.
You should be constantly aware of the security threats that may face the brand as you carry out digital marketing. Employ these tools to protect the business, your customers, social media profiles, and the brand’s reputation from malicious online activities.
Dennis Hung is an entrepreneur and business consultant. He has spent most of career consulting for businesses in North America on how to improve their business technology, social media and digital marketing.
