According to a recent survey conducted by HP TippingPoint, 69% of IT professionals experience a phishing attack at least once a week. 7 out of 10 attacks come from a malware-infected host.

“It is likely that most environments have already been breached with systems infected by malware,” Frank Mong, Vice President of Solutions, Enterprise Security Products, HP said. “It’s important that IT professionals understand how attacks are trying to break through the network, and have confidence in their ability to mitigate attacks when every second matters.”

Mong’s words couldn’t ring truer for both small businesses and big businesses, alike. While small businsses often lack the infrastructure necessary to offer a robust in-house solution for preventing attacks, big businesses are prone to more blind spots in their networks. The TrippingPoint survey recognizes the prevailing importance of redundant security models; this not only includes third party applications, but more importantly, firewall protection issued through web hosting providers.

Let’s take one of our top hosting providers for instance. Bluehost’s SiteLock product automatically scans your system using a SQl Injection, checking for database attacks where sensitive information is stored. By design, BlueHost’s servers are secure, but with SiteLock, users layer their protection from the front end of their websites to the back end of their hosting server. In terms of firewalls, BlueHost services a multi-tiered solution to further ensure a safe and secure hosting environment for its clients.

Phishing will always be an issue for online businesses, but having the right protection could mean the difference between a safe and trusted brand and one that fails prey to a lethal attack. Most people would probably agree that it makes more sense to pour money into prevention rather than doctoring a website back to life.