We recently sent an email to our client’s IT manager regarding a hacking attempt on their website:

“I just want you to know we’ve been monitoring, and reacting to, a brute force hacking attempt on your website this evening. Their efforts to gain access to your site have been unsuccessful due to our security configuration, but they were causing some drain on our CPU/memory resources due to the sheer number of attempts (ie. denial of service). We instituted steps to minimize the impact they have on your website performance. Soon after the hackers got frustrated and gave up.”

We didn’t share this email in order to brag about our ability to write tech speak. Well… maybe a little. We shared it to show you that one of the many good things about managed website hosting is protecting a website against hacking.

Website hacks are not limited to the major corporations you read about in the news. Everyday, actually every hour, hackers try to break into websites of all sizes. We are surprised at how many times our clients, large and small, have had hacking attempts. The above email was about a hacker trying to break into a summer camp’s website. Not even nonprofits are spared. YMCAs, nature centers, and religious groups have all been targeted. But under our website care packages, hackers have been thwarted by automated security monitoring and rapid response times.

So why do hackers hack?

Website security specialists list these top 6 reasons:

1. Finding system weakness in preparation to infiltrate a website.
2. Disrupt a web server to shut it down. This is called a Denial of Service attack.
3. Steal information whether it is private, personal or otherwise.
4. Disrupting a business or nonprofit’s online presence to cause them to lose money.
5. Plain old website vandalism. Some hackers are just looking to cause trouble.
6. Add malware or code to a website. This can be done to take over a website, or simply to use the site to mask illegal activities without the website owner knowing about it.

No matter what reason a hacker might visit your website, you can rest assured that we will be there to respond.