WordPress Security Review – Depot Systems sp z o.o

In 2019, WordPress accounted for 83% of infected content management sites. Make sure you are not involved in this and learn how to safely manage your WordPress website.

Vulnerabilities in the WordPress core account for less than 10% of all WordPress hacks. Most of them are associated with outdated WordPress installations.

The number of hacks that occur in actual security holes in recent versions (also known as zero-day exploits) in the WordPress core account for a tiny percentage of all hacks. Other sites were infected via plugins, themes, hosting, or users.

In this article, we already discussed the importance of updating your plugins on time.

Who’s attacking you?

Most hacked WordPress websites are automatically compromised by a bot or botnet.

Bots are computer programs that constantly look for websites to hack. They don’t care who you are; they are simply looking for weak points in your defense.

A botnet combines the computing power of many bots to solve more serious problems.

Hackers are primarily looking for a path to your server so that they can use the processing power of your server and use it for some other purpose or task. Hackers need your server for the following reasons.

Sending spam

Spam makes up about 60% of all email and needs to be sent from somewhere. Many hackers want to access your server through a faulty plugin or outdated version of WordPress core in order to turn your server into a spam machine.

Improving SEO scores

A particularly popular way to hack WordPress is to access its database and add a bunch of (hidden) text under each post, linking to a different website. This is a really quick way to improve your search engine scores, although Google is becoming increasingly vigilant about this behavior and the number of blacklists is rising.

Stealing data

Data is incredibly valuable, especially when linked to user profiles and eCommerce information. Obtaining this data and selling it can generate substantial profits for an attacker.

Why Does Security Matter So Much?

To get the hacked WordPress website working again, you need to remove and replace every bit of third-party code (including WordPress core); comb your own code line by line and all other folders on the server to make sure they’re still clean. Apart from cleanup costs, hacks can also get expensive due to missed sales or leads. Hacks lower your search rankings, resulting in fewer visitors and fewer conversions. Hacking damages your reputation more than financial costs. Visitors come to your site because they trust you. Hacking damages your reputation, and it takes a long time to recover.

How to prevent all of this

Confidentiality

Ensure that the signed-in users are assigned the correct roles and that their capabilities are under control. Give users the minimum access they want and make sure admin information doesn’t go the wrong way. You can do this by hardening your WordPress admin area and using usernames and credentials carefully.

Availability

Make sure your WordPress, plugins, and themes are up to date and hosted on a reliable (preferably managed) WordPress host. Daily automatic backups also help ensure that your site is always available.

Spam Protection

Ensure that spam gets removed by using a spam protection service such as Akismet.

Watch for Third-Party Code

Third-party plugins and themes are a breeding ground for hacks. They are also the most difficult nut to crack when it comes to securing your website.

Most WordPress hacks are caused by plugins, themes, and outdated copies of WordPress.No software is 100% secure, but many plugins and themes have either not been updated by their developers for a long time or were not initially secure.

Less code means less hacking. So, before installing another plugin, ask yourself if you really need it. Maybe there is any other way to solve this problem? If you’re sure you need a plugin or theme, then choose it wisely.

Check the rating, “last updated” date, and required PHP version when browsing the WordPress plugin directory. If you find what you were looking for and everything seems to work, look for any mentions of it on a reliable security blog like Sucuri.

Summary

Is WordPress insecure? Of course, it’s not. The WordPress core is constantly updated, and most WordPress hack posts do not come from WordPress itself. Is the culture around WordPress insecure? It is!

But by keeping in mind the security of every line of code you write, every plugin you add, and every paid hosting bill, you can at least ensure that you are running a secure website that will preserve your reputation and your data safe.

Why Does Security Matter So Much?

How to prevent all of this

Watch for Third-Party Code

Summary

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