Introduction
Cybersecurity is a big deal for us in this age and time because of how much technology has come to be a part of our everyday life.
Almost every human activity can now be done over the internet especially as it relates to e-commerce. This indicates that a lot of times, our personal information is inputted into a computer system and stored for logs records keeping and for future accessibility.
Ordinarily, when data is inputted into a computer system, no matter how personal or sensitive it is, it passes through a series of other computer networks. Your private information becomes public knowledge. This, however, doesn’t happen in reality because of a security layer called the SSL.
SSL means Secure Socket Layer. As the name suggests, the SSL is a secured layer that you can trust to keep your personal data private, safe, and secure.
The SSL certificate is a digital certificate that lays the foundation for data security and privacy. The SSL certificate prevents unauthorized entities from accessing data through encryption that makes it possible for only the authorized persons to read such information.
The SSL certificate makes it impossible for anyone except the intended recipient to read the information. There are other benefits the SSL certificate offers.
Some years back, Google, which is a ranking SEO determinant, changed its algorithm to favor https secure websites. This means that https secure websites are more likely to rank tops in the SEO ranking. Very soon, obtaining the SSL certificate would be a major determinant in selecting websites that would be assessable on google and other search engines.
- Increase Reliability. The SSL certificate is necessary to prove that your website is secure, and it is only when your website is secure that clients find it reliable and can trust it with their persona data.
An https secure website would turn green if it has an SSL certificate. When website users assured of an https secure website, they begin to trust the website more and would feel safe enough to make purchases on your website and even share your links to their friends.
In fact, when you have an SSL certificate, the SSL certificate providers will give you a trust seal that further convinces your clients to trust your website.
- Control of the Server. The SSL certificate also takes control of the server to ensure that the right information is being sent to the right server as it passes through different computer networks.
An SSL certificate ensures that you have full control of your server to determine who can access the information you put out or in.
- Software freedom. One of the perks of having an SSL certificate is that it gives you software freedom. The SSL certificate affords website owners the freedom to install any software of their choice without fear of the software stealing sensitive information and delivering it to unauthorized personnel. This is another way of building trust.
- Scale Resources. Having an SSL certificate helps improve resource scalability. No matter how many users or computer networks and applications increase, with an SSL certificate, you can trust your web scalability and be assured that your website is able to accommodate such an increase without sacrificing data security.
- Cloud data backups. Backing up data on a cloud can prove to be a security risk without the SSL certificate.
Cloud storage is generally storing data in the public domain especially as it relates to public clouds. To trust that data backup on such a public cloud wouldn’t be tantamount to exposing sensitive information on a public space, it is important to have the SSL certificate.
Other reasons/ benefits of having an SSL certificate includes better SEO rankings, more secured online transactions, SSL certificate helps you to satisfy PCI/DSS requirements, SSL helps you authenticate your website and increase your credibility, etc.
Conclusion:
Trust is the soil on which a positive business reputation grows. The big companies and leading business entities in every industry have attained a positive image in the eyes of the public because over the years, they have proven to be reliable and have gained the trust of their clients. It’s pretty much the same thing with e-commerce.
E-commerce is facilitated through the instrumentality of websites. To gain the trust of clients, the website needs to prove that it’s secure enough to protect their personal data from the prying eyes of data hackers and all unauthorized persons. The SSL certification is what encrypts data so that it can only be read by its intended users. This means that it is through SSL certification that companies gain clients’ trust in e-commerce.
Apart from data security and gaining clients’ trust, SSL certification offers numerous advantages to the web owner.
Such advantages include but are not limited to better SEO rankings, improved data backup system, a legitimate server control, software freedom, authenticity advantages, and lots more.
With the rising call for more effective ways of increasing cybersecurity, Google has now taken proactive steps to ensure that only sites secured with SSL certification would rank tops in SEO and in the nearest future, would even be accessible via the platform. This is a wakeup call for all website owners to prioritize website security and take steps to get SSL certification.