Is your website secure enough?

In recent years, several incidents have been in the news in which the websites of family doctors and pharmacies, municipalities and other government agencies, among others, were found to be unsafe. As a result, sensitive personal data could end up on the street just like that, without the data subject being aware of it. The cause of this in many cases was that these websites did not use an SSL certificate, which is essential to secure (personal) data. Is your website properly secured?

What is an SSL certificate?

An SSL certificate is a means of securing data on a website. Through an encrypted connection, an SSL certificate secures the (personal) data on a website from hackers. When a Web site uses an SSL certificate, the URL reads: “https” instead of “http,” which is used for unsecured websites. Furthermore, the URL also has an icon of a “lock” next to it and the text “secure,” when using Chrome. Thus, websites that only have “http” in front of the URL are insecure, and it is best not to leave personal information on such a website, as it may fall into the hands of a hacker.

Tighter measures for insecure sites by Chrome and Firefox

Google attaches great importance to safe use of the Internet and plans to further
encourage this
. Google is committed to making the Internet even more secure by 2017. As of version 56 (
which was released this week
), Google Chrome is going to label websites that forward passwords and credit card information and do not have an SSL certificate as insecure. In fact, the plan is to implement this on all websites that do not have an SSL certificate in the near future. Consequently, the marking of this in the address bar for the URL will be displayed much more prominently, namely with the text “unsafe” and later also with a “red triangle with an exclamation mark. Firefox also introduced this month
similar measures
implemented.

The personal data authority is also going to more strictly monitor the use of SSL certificates for websites that work with personal data.

Is my website secure with an SSL certificate?

When your website has an SSL certificate, it is a lot more secure and protected. There are even more benefits, as secure websites are ranked higher in Google, which will make it easier for your organization or product to be found. By using an SSL certificate with at least “Organization validation,” you exude reliability, because your customers can see who they are really doing business with. To exude even more confidence, there are SSL certificates with “Extended Validation,” where your organization name is displayed directly before the URL in the address bar. Thus, using an SSL certificate ensures that potential customers are more likely to buy from you than from your competitors’ unsecured websites.

Order your SSL certificate from SQR.NL

Do you not yet have an SSL certificate and are now convinced that you cannot do without one? Then contact our support desk to discuss options for your website at
support@sqr.nl
. We have several SSL certificates and would be happy to discuss which one best suits your website. More information about SSL certificates can be found on our
SSL product page
.