How Medical Practices With A Good Web Design Can Help Prevent Data Leaks

The rise of Software As A Service and the exchange of huge quantities of sensitive data online has led to a huge surge in data leakage. As far back as 2010, computer security experts were extremely concerned about the possibility of wholesale data leakage as the result of modern software and web use practices.

Preventing web-based data leakage is a task that requires collaboration from everybody, from end users to software developers. Unbeknownst to some, web designers also have a part to play in keeping data safe and secure. Here are just some of the ways in which a web designer can create a safe-data environment.

Secure Coding

Historically, websites have been rather vulnerable to SQL injection attacks. These attacks involve the ‘injection’ of code into a website, which then allows a malicious actor to harvest all the data they can get their hands on. Designing a website to be safe from this kind of attack is rather complex and involves thinking about security from the very beginning of the design process. Essentially, a web designer needs to ensure that any user data that is passed to an SQL query cannot change the nature of the query. This kind of security is best left to the professionals. If you don’t have the know-how to make sure that your website’s code cannot be manipulated with an injection, then speak to your local web design and development agency. If you are located in the Midlands, it is worth your while to get in touch with Cannock design services from a company such as ALTagency.

Multi-Factor Authentication

Web visitors are often prompted to sign into a profile on a website in order to order goods, access private information, and communicate with site owners. This is an inherently risky process. Passwords and usernames are not completely secure, and hackers can use cracked passwords to access and leak all sorts of sensitive data. One way in which web designers have attempted to make the authentication process more secure is by implementing multi-factor authentication for access to profiles and private areas.

Multi-factor authentication can be extremely secure. As an example, let’s look at ambient noise audio authentication. Once a user or admin has entered their password, they are asked to record a small snippet of audio on both their phone and computer microphones. The ambient noise from each recording is analyzed. If they match, the user can access the secure area they wish to enter. This type of multi-factor authentication relies upon the user having both a phone and computer that can sense audio. Biometric authentication has also been utilized as a part of a multi-factor system. By requiring the user to authenticate with both a password and, say, a scan of their face a website an ensure that the password has not simply been stolen from the rightful user. Biometric authentication is becoming common in the design of banking websites and apps. Starling bank, for instance, requires users to submit biometric data in order to access their online bank.