Sellers who use the popular GoDaddy webhosting service should take note of Wednesday’s announcement from the FTC, which charged GoDaddy with failing to secure its website-hosting services against attacks that could harm its customers and visitors to the customers’ websites.
GoDaddy operates one of the world’s largest web hosting companies, with approximately five million web hosting customers. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it would require GoDaddy to implement a robust information security program to settle the charges.
The director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Samuel Levine said, “Millions of companies, particularly small businesses, rely on web hosting providers like GoDaddy to secure the websites that they and their customers rely on. The FTC is acting today to ensure that companies like GoDaddy bolster their security systems to protect consumers around the globe.”
In a related advisory published on Wednesday, the FTC provided suggestions for small businesses on “a few key things to ask about and do to protect yourself and your business” when looking for a webhost, including asking the following questions:
- What security practices and technologies will you use to keep my website secure?
- Where do you store my site’s data?
- Are there multifactor authentication (MFA) options available I can use so other people can’t access or change my website with only a username and password?
- Who do I contact if I notice suspicious activity?
The FTC laid out GoDaddy’s alleged “Data Security Failures” in the complaint. The GoDaddy newsroom did not have any announcement from the company responding to Wednesday’s FTC announcement.