Creating a web site that has “secure” components requires more than slapping together some web pages and adding an SSL Certificate.  All a certificate really does is create a thin veneer of security — one that does not go very far to protect whatever sensitive data necessitated security in the first place.  In fact, naive attempts at security can ultimately make the data less secure and more likely to be compromised by creating an appetizing target for the unscrupulous.

So, beyond paying big bucks to hire a developer with significant security expertise, what do you do? Start with this article — its purpose is to shed light on many of the most significant factors in secure web site programming/design and what you can do to address them.  At a minimum, reading this article will help you to intelligently discuss your web site security with the developers that you ultimately hire.

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The situation: your organization needs to collect information from clients through from(s) on your web site, but that information is sensitive. So, you need to be absolutely sure that the information is transferred from the users of your web site to you in as secure a fashion as possible. This means that

1. no one but you (or optionally your authorized staff) can intercept or read the information,
2. the information is never stored insecurely anywhere
3. the information cannot be modified without your knowledge

Why would this high level of security and privacy be necessary? There are many cases where they are essential; some of these include:

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