Top Web Hosting Provider Shuts Down Following Cyberattack
One of the top web hosting providers in the world has shut down its operations after suffering from a cyberattack over the weekend, according to reports from industry insiders who spoke with The Coin Telegraph.
What happened?
One of the world’s leading web hosting providers has been forced to shut down after a cyber-attack compromised its systems and services. The company, OVH, is based in France and provides web hosting services to millions of customers worldwide, including some of the most popular websites on the internet. According to media reports, it was hit by a ransomware attack which encrypted files on its servers rendering them inaccessible. It is believed that tens of thousands of companies may have been impacted by this attack, with many being left without access to their emails or other data.
Customers are now waiting to see how the fallout from this event will impact their business, but given that so much time and money can be wasted when a service like email goes offline for even a few hours there can be serious consequences for many companies – especially those who rely on an email marketing strategy. Experts suggest that companies make sure they store a back up copy of any data they cannot afford to lose just in case something like this ever happens again.
How do I know if my website was compromised?
If your site was compromised, you will likely notice at least some of the following symptoms:
- Website is down
- Strange or unusual activity on your account (i.e. a sudden spike in traffic or an increase in resources)
- Cannot log into your account
- Malware or viruses on your website that may be causing it to crash or not load properly -Your email address has been changed without your knowledge
- File permissions have been tampered with and important files may have been deleted from the server or replaced with malicious code
- Your website’s data has been backed up and encrypted by hackers for ransom purposes -If this sounds like what happened to you, then your site may have been compromised.
- You can use this checker tool to find out if your domain name was hijacked by hackers-It checks if it’s been blacklisted in Google’s Safe Browsing system
What should I do next?
If you’re a business owner and use a web host for your website, this is an urgent matter. Make sure to check whether your host has been impacted by the cyber attack. If they have, contact them immediately to find out more information about how this will affect your site and business. Then weigh your options for switching hosts, if necessary. You may want to consider hiring an IT consultant to help you with the transition as it could get complicated very quickly.
You’ll also need to think about any of the security measures that you had in place before (such as firewalls) that you might not be able to do on your own now. And make sure to back up everything from your old hosting provider before signing off – those files could come in handy down the line! If your website was hosted through Bluehost, SiteGround or HostGator at the time of shutdown, then your site should already be up and running again. Those companies are taking some downtime to perform maintenance and assess their systems but claim to have little or no customer data exposed. Just keep an eye on their status updates though just in case anything changes.
What can I do to prevent this from happening again?
Digital security is a quickly evolving field, and as such, it’s important to always keep up with the latest news and information. This can be done through reading various articles about cyberattacks or hosting providers like this one that are shutting down due to threats. In addition to being aware of the latest information, there are also a few precautions you can take to protect your business from being compromised. One way is using strong passwords in conjunction with two-factor authentication. Another is not opening emails from unknown senders and only opening attachments if you’re expecting them.
Of course, these steps should always be taken alongside other standard cybersecurity measures such as creating firewalls and backing up data regularly. The bottom line is that it’s never too early to start thinking about digital security for your business – after all, prevention starts now! Continuing on with the topic at hand, recent developments show that web hosts might have to invest more into their digital security infrastructure so they can fend off attacks in order to offer better service. For example, following the successful attack on OVH, Microsoft Azure partnered with their rivals Amazon Web Services so Azure customers could continue receiving uninterrupted service during peak hours. It seems that companies must always adapt and innovate if they want to stay ahead of attackers who will undoubtedly continue targeting them until they get what they want.
