In early 2013, WordPress installations around the world were subjected to worldwide brute force attacks.

These attacks were caused by infected computer networks programmed to attack other computers (called “botnets”).

(WordPress often is targeted by hackers, due to its popularity)

On March 11, 2014, many technology sites reported that over 162,000 legitimate WordPress-powered websites had been hacked.

(Over 160,000 WordPress sites were attacked in a massive DDoS attack in March 2014. Source: BlogDefender.com)

According to the Cnet report,

“With some old-fashioned trickery, hackers were able to get more than 162,000 legitimate WordPress-powered Web sites to mount a distributed-denial-of-service attack against another Web site.”

(Source: cnet.com/news/ddos-attack-is-launched-from-162000-wordpress-sites)

As described by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber-attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.

Whenever worldwide brute-force attacks happen on WordPress sites, it’s natural for people to start asking just how secure WordPress is as a software for building and running an online presence.

Powering millions of websites worldwide makes WordPress a target for hacker attacks. But should you really be concerned about WordPress as a secure web platform?

In this article, you will learn some of the main reasons why you should definitely use WordPress if you are concerned about website security.

WordPress Security Explained

Let’s start with the facts …

Thousands of websites are hacked every year … not just WordPress sites!

The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is rising, and things are only going to get worse.

It’s safe to assume that if you haven’t been hacked yet, then it’s inevitable that at some point in time someone will attempt to hack into your site … regardless of the web platform you use!

Since it’s no longer a matter of if, but a matter of when before your website will be targeted by malicious hackers, are there any advantages that WordPress can offer you in terms of security?

The “Open Source” Argument For Security Vulnerabilities

Many people will often argue that WordPress is not a secure platform for running websites because it is a freely available open source software program.

Open source CMS platforms like WordPress, Drupal and Joomla are free to use and anyone can view the underlying code.

The argument against using WordPress, then, goes something like this: If everyone can study the Open Source software code for WordPress, then hackers can also easily get hold of the code and go through it, searching for weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the code that they could exploit …

(It’s not a matter of if, but when before a malicious user attempts to hack your website … WordPress or no WordPress!)

While it’s true that WordPress is a free application and hackers can easily go through the code looking for weaknesses or vulnerabilities (hackers can do the same with any software), the fact that WordPress is a free, open platform actually makes it a lot more secure in many ways.

This is because WordPress has the support of a global community comprised of hundreds of software programmers, plugin developers and theme designers who are constantly working to help improve the program and make WordPress more secure …

(The WordPress platform is built, maintained and updated by an open community of web developers around the world. Screenshot image: WordPress.org)

WordPress evolves largely through the effort of hundreds of committed volunteers working around the clock to fix any issues detected by users. Everyone benefits from hundreds of web developers, designers and users committed to improving the software, fixing bugs and making the WordPress platform safer for every user …

(The WordPress core software is built and maintained by a global community of web developers. Image: make.wordpress.org)

The moment any security issues are discovered by developers or users, these are then reported in user forums and addressed by the WordPress core development team …

(WordPress is continually being improved upon by an open community of developers and users. Source: WordPress.org)

The WordPress community support system, therefore, is very responsive and anyone can help contribute to the improvement of the platform.

For example:

• If you notice bugs and a security exploit, you can report these by emailing security@wordpress.org.
• If you find issues in a WP plugin, you can report these by sending an email to plugins@wordpress.org.

This is the reason why WordPress is constantly releasing new version updates, and why you continually need to keep your site updated and maintained …

(WordPress continually releases new version updates to address security weaknesses)

WordPress Vs Proprietary CMS Applications

Compare the benefits of using an open source CMS platform like WordPress with proprietary CMS technologies where often a smaller team with limited resources is responsible for monitoring and improving software security, fixing bugs, etc., and you will very quickly realize the value of using WordPress to power your websites and blogs on a secure platform.

The WordPress CMS is free to download, use and modify, and thousands of volunteers and expert developers are continually working to improve the platform. Can a proprietary technology company afford to employ as many developers and programmers and still deliver you software that is 100% free to download, use and modify as you wish?

WordPress CMS Vs Other Open Source Applications

(CMS Platforms include WordPress, Joomla and Drupal)

Whilst on the topic of Open Source content management systems, research shows that WordPress is safer than other leading Open Source CMS platforms like Drupal and Joomla.

For example, here is one study showing the number of security vulnerabilities discovered in popular CMS platforms …

(WordPress has fewer security vulnerabilities than other leading CMS applications. Image source: National Vulnerability Database)

Other studies also indicate that, because WordPress is quite easy to use and maintain, when sites across different CMS platforms were tested for security issues, sites run on WordPress had a significant degree of less exposure to risk …

(BlogDefender.com – CMS Tests. Image: BlogDefender.com)

It’s Easier To Blame Technology When Things Go Wrong

If someone breaks into your WordPress site, don’t be too quick to blame the WordPress CMS platform.

According to a report called “Compromised Websites: An Owner’s Perspective,” published by security organizations Commtouch and StopBadware, most webmasters have no idea about the security threats their websites are exposed to, how to secure a website, or deal with security compromises.

In fact, over 60% of webmasters surveyed in this report didn’t even know how their websites had been compromised after an attack …

(Most webmasters don’t know how their sites get hacked. Image source: StopBadware.org)

Of immediate concern, however, is the fact that many security-related issues result from website owners forgetting to upgrade their WordPress software to a newer version …

(Many WordPress users have not updated their sites. Image source: Sucuri.net)

When WordPress security issues were looked at in more detail, it was found that only a small percentage of vulnerabilities discovered in 3rd-party code are actually found in the WordPress CMS core, while most security issues are found in plug-ins and developed externally …

(WordPress Security Issues. Screenshot source: WebDesign.org)

Like all robust web platforms, WordPress is regularly updated in order to address new security risks that may arise. Improving software security is always a concern, and to that end, you should always keep your WordPress software, plugins, and themes updated to the latest version.

WordPress Is Used By Many Security-Conscious Businesses!

The amount of misinformation online about how secure WordPress is has even led Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress, to chime into the online discussion.

In an article entitled “A Bank Website on WordPress” published on April 15, 2015, Matt wrote the following about WordPress …

There’s a thread on Quora asking “I am powering a bank’s website using WordPress. What security measures should I take?” The answers have mostly been ignorant junk along the lines of “Oh NOES WP is INSECURE! let me take my money out of that bank”, so I wrote one myself, which I’ve copied below.

I agree there’s probably not a ton of benefit to having the online banking / billpay / etc portion of a bank’s website on WordPress, however there is no reason you couldn’t run the front-end and marketing side of the site on WordPress, and in fact you’d be leveraging WordPress’ strength as a content management platform that is flexible, customizable, and easy to update and maintain.

Matt then goes on to provide a couple of security tips, before stating the following …

For an example of a beautiful, responsive banking website built on WordPress, check out Gateway Bank of Mesa AZ. WordPress is also trusted to run sites for some of the largest and most security-conscious organizations in the world, including Facebook, SAP, Glenn Greenwald’s The Intercept, eBay, McAfee, Sophos, GNOME, Mozilla, MIT, Reuters, CNN, Google Ventures, NASA, and literally hundreds more.

As the most widely used CMS in the world, many people use and deploy the open source version of WordPress in a sub-optimal and insecure way, but the same could be said of Linux, Apache, MySQL, Node, Rails, Java, or any widely-used software. It is possible and actually not that hard to run WordPress in a way that is secure enough for a bank, government site, media site, or anything.

Millions of businesses, including banks, leading brands and e-commerce sites choose WordPress to build their presence online, not just bloggers.

Other Issues That Can Affect Security

Other areas that can affect WP site security include:

• No platform is immune to hackers. As many as 90% of all websites across all platforms are vulnerable to attack, mostly due to using outdated software.
• The main vulnerability of all CMS platforms seems to be the users themselves. For example, many users ignore strong password security recommendations.
• Lack of constant monitoring. All security systems need to be regularly monitored, tested, updated and improved.
• Server setup. For example, websites on shared hosting servers are only as secure as the least safe website on the grid, so if another user on your shared server gets their site hacked into, then all sites on the server are potentially vulnerable.

There’s No Reason Not To Use WordPress

As this article has hopefully shown, WordPress is as secure as most of the leading web platforms being used by businesses of all sizes to build their presence online. As long as you commit to implementing basic security measures and keep your WordPress software (and plugins, themes, etc.) regularly up-to-date, there is no reason not to choose WordPress.

WordPress Security – Tips

To learn about ways to protect your WordPress site from brute force attacks see this article:  Preventing WordPress Brute-Force Attacks

A compromised website provides hackers with a resource for denial of service attacks, spreading malware and engaging in information theft. Blog Defender makes your WordPress site invisible to attacks from hackers and bots. Go here to learn more:

• Blog Defender WordPress Security Plugin

If you are currently using an outdated WordPress version remember to make a backup before updating your software to protect your site from the latest security risks. This way, if something goes wrong, you can always restore everything to its former settings.

If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many WordPress plugins you can use. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here: Back Up, Duplicate & Keep Your WP Site Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

References

The above facts were referenced from various sources, including those listed below:

• ITProPortal.com
• National Vulnerability Database
• BlogDefender.com
• UpAndUpStudios.com
• StopBadware.org
• Sucuri.net
• WebDesign.org
• Quora.com
• Ma.tt

Hopefully, this post has given you a better understanding of problems that can affect your website and how WordPress can help you build a better business online. To learn more about using WordPress for a business web site please see other posts we have published on this site or subscribe to receive updates and notifications when new articles or tutorials are published.

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