It's surprising how much website security today is often lacking, even across major and popular sites. Needless to say, such security gaps leave businesses vulnerable to hackers, viruses, and other cyber threats.
Consider this: A recent brand impersonation fraud campaign targeted over 100 popular apparel brands with a vast network of 3,000+ spoofed brand websites. When a cyber attack violating website security like this is successful, the costs of lost business, customers, and digital trust can be devastating.
Fortunately, software solutions designed to protect key digital assets are increasing in sophistication and availability.
Here, we cover the top eleven solutions for keeping your website unique and 'impersonation proof,' plus key factors for deciding on the right one.
What Are Website Security Software Solutions?
Website security software solutions are specialized tools and systems designed to safeguard websites from various cyber threats, ensuring the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of the website and its underlying data. They protect against internet-based threats such as malware, phishing attacks, website spoofing, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
Website security software solutions are also crucial for all business sizes, from small enterprises to large corporations. Companies use these tools to diminish the risk of attack and data loss, while ensuring the site remains accessible to the public.
Types of Website Security Software Solutions
Website security software solutions, individually or in combination, are essential to a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy for any website. It's important to note that many of the solutions and technologies listed below are not specific solely to website protection but offer valuable benefits when used as such.
Common types include:
Antivirus and Malware Scanner
Detects and removes viruses and/or malware from websites, files and directories, servers, and computers.
API Security
Protects websites from unauthorized access, attacks, and data breaches by implementing authentication, input validation, rate limiting, and monitoring.
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
Improves website performance and security by caching static content, providing DDoS protection, and protecting against content scraping. While security is not a CDN's main purpose, it plays a valuable role in keeping website content safe.
DDoS Protection
Protects websites from DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks, which swarm a website with traffic and cause it to become unavailable or crash.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS)
Monitors networks or systems that host websites (among other uses) for malicious activities or policy violations, then automatically takes action to prevent or mitigate these activities, like blocking traffic from an attacker's IP address.
SSL/TLS Certificates
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificates encrypt the data transmitted between a user's browser and the website, ensuring secure data transfer and protecting sensitive information like login credentials and personal data.
Vulnerability Scanners
Identifies vulnerabilities in a website's code so these vulnerabilities can be patched to make the website more secure.
Web Application Firewalls (WAFs)
Blocks malicious traffic from reaching a website and can protect websites from web application vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS).
Website Spoofing Prevention
Safeguards businesses and customers from fraudulent spoofed websites that appear as fake versions of legitimate websites
Benefits of Website Security Software Solutions
Protects Websites from Cyber Threats
Website security software solutions play a critical role in defending against a myriad of cyber threats, including malware, phishing attacks, DDoS attacks, and more. They employ advanced scanning algorithms and threat detection technologies to identify and neutralize potential threats before they compromise your site. This proactive approach ensures that your website remains a safe and reliable platform for your users.
Improves Website Availability and Ensures Online Business Continuity
Ensuring your website is always available to your customers is crucial for maintaining business operations online. Security solutions help protect against attacks that can take your site offline, such as DDoS attacks, by diffusing the traffic across a network of servers or mitigating the attack traffic. This means your business remains operational, minimizing potential revenue loss and maintaining customer trust.
Safeguards Customer Data
With increasing concerns about personal data security, protecting your customers' information is paramount. Website security solutions encrypt data transmitted between the user's browser and your website, safeguarding sensitive information such as credit card numbers and personal identifiers from interception. This encryption helps comply with data protection regulations and builds customer trust.
Ensures Regulatory Compliance
Many industries are subject to strict regulatory requirements for data protection and privacy, such as GDPR in the EU, HIPAA in healthcare, and PCI DSS for businesses handling credit card information. Website security software aids compliance by providing features like data encryption, secure data storage, and regular security audits. This helps avoid hefty fines and also strengthens your reputation as a secure and reliable business.
Improves Website Reputation
When customers know that you take their security seriously, they're more likely to return and recommend your site to others. Security badges and certificates from recognized authorities can be displayed on your website as a trust signal, further boosting user confidence and improving your reputation.
Maintains and Enhances Digital Trust
Digital trust is an essential currency in an online connected world. By implementing robust website security measures, you demonstrate to your customers and partners that you value and protect their data. This commitment to security fosters long-term relationships and loyalty, contributing to the growth and sustainability of your online presence.
How to Choose a Website Security Software Solution
Each website security software solution comes with a range of different features specific to its purpose. Many comprehensive solutions that encompass multiple functions are available.
In general, you'll want to thoroughly assess your needs, risks, and potential vulnerabilities before selecting a solution. If choosing multiple solutions, ensure compatibility with the website itself and the rest of your security tech stack where possible.
Other factors to consider when choosing a website security software solution:
- Budget -- Website security software solutions vary significantly in price.
- Type of website -- The website type will determine what kind of security threats the website is most vulnerable to. For example, an eCommerce website must protect itself from credit card theft, while a blog might need to defend itself from comment spam.
- Website size -- The website's size (in terms of complexity, volume, and nature of the traffic and interactions it handles) will determine the amount of traffic the website needs to process. For example, a larger website will need a more powerful WAF than a smaller website.
Top 11 Website Security Software Solutions
1. Memcyco
Memcyco offers a unique, agentless solution for combating website impersonation. It quickly alerts users visiting counterfeit sites, provides detailed attack insights, and authenticates legitimate sites with a distinct watermark. Its easy implementation, requiring minimal code, ensures rapid deployment and protection during the crucial period from a fake site's launch to its takedown.
Best for: End-to-end solution for website impersonation
Pricing: A free demo is available. Contact for pricing.
Review: "Memcyco's already proved its worth and saved us much more than its price. We give it a ringing endorsement."
2. Open-appsec
Open-appsec, an open-source WAF and API security tool, offers real-time defense against OWASP Top-10, yet unknown, and zero-day threats like Log4Shell. It automatically blocks harmful requests and utilizes machine learning to enhance web application and API security.
Best for: Automatic web application and API security
Pricing: A free Community version, and paid plans by inquiry.
Review: "It provides state-of-the-art protection and allows us to focus on new business and customer satisfaction."
3. Pentest-Tools.com
Pentest Tools is a web-based platform that helps security teams find and fix vulnerabilities in web applications and networks. It offers attack surface mapping, vulnerability scanning, exploitation, writing pentest reports, and continuous security monitoring.
Best for: Finding and fixing vulnerabilities in web applications and networks
Pricing: Four levels, ranging from Free to Teams at $395/month
Review: "The platform has been very helpful in identifying critical vulnerabilities and saving us from potential exploitation."
4. ESET Protect
ESET Protect is a comprehensive solution for business websites, including file security, web security, network security, email security, data loss prevention, device control, and remote management. It provides multi-layered protection and threat intelligence powered by AI and human expertise.
Best for: Businesses of all sizes needing protection from a wide range of threats
Pricing: Four tiers, with pricing based on features included and starting at $211/month
Review: "ESET Protect can be easily deployed across multiple endpoints using a variety of deployment options."
5. Imperva Secure CDN (by Thales)
Imperva's Secure CDN provides a potent cloud solution for businesses that integrates smart caching, load balancing, and automatic failover features to distribute web applications worldwide efficiently. The integrated Web Application and API Protection (WAAP) platform safeguards your website from the latest threats.
Best for: Simultaneously improving website security and performance
Pricing: By request
Review: "The best feature of Imperva CDN is its quick deployment mechanism, which allows you to easily set up and configure your CDN network."
6. BitNinja
BitNinja is a server security platform that offers a suite of features, including anti-malware, web application firewall (WAF), IP reputation, outbound spam detection, and site protection against DDoS attacks and other website downtime. Its AI-powered Defense Network shares attack information across BitNinja-protected servers.
Best for: Shared web hosting, small businesses, and VPS providers
Pricing: Based on the number of users and ranges from $10-40/Monthly
Review: "BitNinja has multiple modules, with the help of which it offers the best defense currently in the market."
7. Astra Security
Astra Security is an all-in-one security tool suite with features such as a firewall, malware scanner, vulnerability scanner, and pentesting tools. Its powerful scanner performs 8000+ different tests, and the security engine covers the required tests to achieve GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001, or SOC2 compliance.
Best for: Maintaining website security and regulatory compliance
Pricing: Three tiers based on features, ranging from $1999 to $7999 annually
Review: "Astra caught our immediate attention with its remarkable pentest efficiency and intuitive dashboard."
8. SSL2BUY
SSL2Buy is an authorized reseller of Comodo, GlobalSign, Sectigo, Digicert, and other leading Certificate Authorities. They offer many kinds of SSL certificates, including Single Domain, Wildcard, Multi-Domain, and EV SSL certificates.
Best for: Affordable and reliable SSL certificates
Pricing: Varies per certificate
Review: "SSL2BUY is the best website for all the certificates and a very easy management dashboard."
9. Beagle Security
Beagle Security is a web application and API security platform that empowers businesses to identify and remediate vulnerabilities in their digital infrastructure. It offers automated penetration testing, API security testing, and compliance reporting to help companies prioritize proactive security, manage diverse API ecosystems, and validate compliance.
Best for: Businesses with a complex API landscape
Pricing: 3 tiers, from free to $299/month, with Enterprise pricing by inquiry
Review: "The reports are easy to understand and provide clear insights and instructions for removing the reported issues."
10. Dropmysite
An underrated but critical part of website security is backing it up. Dropmysite provides automated backups, one-click restore, military-grade encryption, website blacklist monitoring, and website uptime monitoring. All backups are securely housed in Amazon Web Services data centers, which boast numerous system security and data protection certifications.
Best for: Protecting your website from data loss and downtime
Pricing: By inquiry
Review: "Dropmysite is simply the best website backup and monitoring service I have tested."
11. Sucuri
Sucuri's website security platform protects against malware, hacks, and other online threats. Its suite of security features boasts a website firewall, malware scanner, CDN, and blacklist monitoring. It also offers incident response, website backups, and security for online stores, including scanning for Magecart and credit card skimmers.
Best for: Securing eCommerce websites
Pricing: 3 levels, ranging from $199.99 to $499.99/year, with multi-site and custom plans by request
Review: "I like how it is easy to set up, and how it can give you CDN and WAF service in the same place."
Safeguard Your Website Authenticity, Reputation and Customer Finances, with Memcyco
Protecting your business website is critical to your organization's success---and to your customers' safety. Website security software solutions keep your site safe from cyber threats so you can spend your time and resources growing your business instead of worrying about phishing-related attacks that consume resources invested in post-incident remediation.
Memcyco ensures that customers engage with your authentic website instead of a fake site designed to commit fraud. By providing real-time protection against website impersonation and brandjacking, Memcyco secures enterprises and their customers, delivering continual proof of website authenticity.
Contact us to discover how Memcyco is redefining digital risk protection.