Commtouch Compromised Websites Survey
A continual global survey of website owners that began last year has yielded some notable insight into the effects that hackers may have on hosters’ bottom lines.
Website Hackers.
Beginning in January 2012, and in cooperation with StopBadware, the Commtouch Compromised Websites Survey collected opinions from hundreds of North American and European website owners and administrators. Among the questions we were seeking to answer: Do website owners blame or leave their hoster after their site has been compromised by the bad guys?
Clearly, compromised websites continue to be an ever-attractive tool for cybercriminals looking to benefit from the misuse of reputable domains – harnessing their bandwidth and processing power resources, not to mention the hosting capabilities through the compromised web servers. And once a site has fallen victim to these guys, it turns out that it does indeed have a marked effect on how a website owner or administrator perceives their hoster.
Amongst the survey findings:
Only 14 percent of hacked site owners receive help from their hoster in fixing their compromised site.
Additionally, a notable 19 percent of hosters either outright refused to assist with a hacked site or simply did not respond to requests for help.
Webmasters were three times as likely to think about changing providers that charged extra or refused to assist than those offering complimentary help.
With more than 25 percent of website owners indicating they are considering leaving their hoster after they’ve been hacked, the bottom line is that hosters are undoubtedly affected by compromised websites – just one more example of the economic impact the cyber bad guys have on the global hosting community. There’s no doubt that this issue does not receive enough attention, especially given the fact that real customers and real revenues are being lost.