Data Protection Regulation
When the General Data Protection Regulation (an initiative by governments globally) came out in 2016, it was designed to ensure that companies are held accountable for the protection of their client’s data. As a result, companies worldwide started investigating their cyber security for all areas of their business and investing millions in maintaining and upgrading it to protect their and their clients’ data.
Google Security
Online security was being brought to the fore on the Internet and Google responded by displaying a website’s security status in the form of a padlock icon before the URL displayed in a browser, or a green URL bar, depending on the level of security. Added to this they said that it would affect a website’s ranking on any Google search.
Security Breaches of Personal Data
The general public are more informed these days about security breaches through hackers and the unauthorised acquisition of their personal data and passwords from large companies, that are usually the targets. Being more informed of these security issues means that they will recognise whether a website is secure or not.
Note: If you want to check if your personal data has in any way been obtained unscrupulously, then go to the website Have I been Pwned?
How SSL Certificates Ensure Safety
An SSL Certificate is a cryptographic protocol (SSL = Secure Sockets Layer) that affords encrypted communication between computer networks. It is one of the easiest ways to ensure safety of your website, visitor interactions and online transactional integrity. It is a form of software that encrypts (scrambles) the data the moment it is sent across the internet, the receiving server or device has the SSL Certificate key that then unencrypts (unscrambles) the data and presents it in a format that you can then read and or interact with.
Your Website Security
The security status of your website is reassurance to your web visitors or clients that you care for their online safety and have taken the necessary precautions with an SSL Certificate.
Types of SSL Certificates
The most cost-effective solution for entrepreneurs , micro and small business owners, is usually a Domain Validated (DV) SSL Certificate – the icon used to indicate this SSL in a browser URL is a padlock and the http prefix is shown as ‘https’ once the certificate has been activated. Registration and activation usually takes approximately 10 minutes.
An Organisation Validated (OV) SSL Certificate requires the company name, registration number and contact details to be checked and validated prior to activation. This is done as a reassurance to online visitors that the company does indeed exist and is legitimate.
The top end of SSL security is the Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificate, and has the highest validation requirements. It is displayed as a Green URL address bar, has the word SECURE displayed, as well as the validated company’s name after the website URL address. These SSLs are particularly used by online retail stores and other large companies specialising in e-commerce to give their customers confidence when purchasing from them.