- Level of Support. Ask about the response time you can expect from your website security provider in the event of an emergency. You should consider whether you will require customization, setup, or troubleshooting. Read reviews or see a preview of the customer experience.
- Logging and Reporting. Investigation of a security incident is easier with access to detailed logs and audit trails. Talk with website security vendors about out what is possible, how reports are accessed, and whether the platform integrates with your SIEM system or security operations team.
- Compatibility and Deployment. Make sure that any website security provider you choose is compatible with your CMS and server software. This also includes concerns about server resources and bandwidth allocation. Ideally, you should understand what you are getting into when it comes to deployment and activation.
- Customization Requirements. If your website requires custom rule sets, load balancing, or high availability, discuss this with your website security provider. You may also want to ask about uptime guarantees, whitelisting and blacklisting, and any advanced security settings.
- Total Cost. Price is always a factor. There may be hidden costs and unexpected fees, not to mention upgrades and upsells. This is especially true when it comes to malware removal services. Make sure your plan covers what you need for support, features, and bandwidth.
- Attack Protection. A website security system should include methods to detect and prevent attacks, including signature and behavior analysis. You may want to ask website security providers about the false positive/negative rate, how often it blocks zero-day vulnerabilities, bandwidth limitations, and the number of global points of presence (PoP).
- SSL Support and Monitoring. If you have SSL/HTTPS on your website already, make sure the website firewall will support your existing certificate. HTTPS is automatically enabled on the Sucuri firewall servers for users who do not have a certificate. A good monitoring system will also be able to tell you if your SSL records change.
- Monitoring and Detection. A good website monitoring system will include continual supervision of your website activity logs, and content changes. Explore the alerting and reporting options of potential vendors. Ask whether they provide remote and server-side scanners and if they can monitor changes to DNS records, core files, and SSL certificates.
- Industry Research. To stay ahead of emerging cybersecurity threats takes constant work. Malware analysis and vulnerability research should be important to any website security provider. It’s also good to know whether the company specializes in your website software or CMS.
- Page Speed. When activating a website firewall, most providers will offer a CDN, caching, and compression that can be fine-tuned to suit your website’s needs. These performance options allow visitors to access a cached version of your website stored in different locations so your website is faster and more secure.
About the author
Viswa Korapala, Serial Entrepreneur and Business Growth Specialist having 16 years of experience. Works with Entrepreneurs who want to multiply their business, and help them Increase their Brand value and Sales Revenue. So clients can grow their business quickly with Viswa experience and expertise.