In April 2013 a global brute-force attack hit WordPress installations on virtually every web host in existence around the world.

These attacks were caused by botnets (networks of infected computers programmed to attack other computers with security vulnerabilities).

(WordPress powers millions of websites around the world, which makes it a target for hacking attempts)

In March 2014, many leading technology sites began reporting that over 162,000 WordPress sites had been hacked.

(160,000+ WordPress sites were attacked in a massive DDoS attack in early 2014. Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)

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 WordPress sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.

Whenever worldwide attacks happen on WordPress sites, it’s natural for website owners to start asking if WordPress really is a safe platform for building and running a business web presence.

WordPress is frequently the target of attacks by hackers. But should you really be concerned about WordPress as being a secure platform for building your business web presence?

In this article, you will learn some of the main reasons why you should use WordPress if you have any concerns about website security.

WordPress Security Explained

Let’s start by looking at facts …

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

The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is rising, and things are getting worse.

It’s probably safe to assume that if you haven’t been hacked yet, then it’s only a matter of time before someone does attempt to hack into your site … regardless of the web platform you use!

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

The “Open Source” Software Argument

Some people often argue that WordPress should not be used for building and running websites because it is “open source” and freely available application.

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

The argument against using WordPress, then, goes something like this: If anyone can access the Open Source code for WordPress, then hackers can easily download all of the code and study every line in detail, searching for security weaknesses that can be exploited …

(It’s no longer a matter of if, but a matter of when before your website will be targeted by hackers … WordPress or no WordPress!)

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

This is because WordPress is supported by a large community of thousands of software programmers, plugin developers and theme designers who constantly help to improve the program and make WordPress more secure …

(With WordPress, a large community of developers is responsible for keeping the core application code maintained and updated. Image source: WordPress.org)

WordPress continually evolves because of the effort of a huge volunteer community working around the clock to fix any issues detected by users. Everyone benefits from hundreds of individuals who, at any one time, are focused on improving the application, identifying and fixing security holes and making the WordPress platform safer for every user …

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

As soon as security vulnerabilities are identified by developers or users, the WordPress core development team are then made aware of it …

(WordPress is continually being improved upon by an open community of users and web developers. Image: make.wordpress.org)

The WordPress community support system is very responsive and anyone can contribute to the process of addressing vulnerabilities.

For example:

• If you come across bugs and security exploits, you can report these by sending an email to security@wordpress.org.
• If you find issues in a WordPress plugin, you can report these by sending an email to plugins@wordpress.org.

This is one of the reasons why the core development team releases new updates regularly, and why you continually need to keep your WordPress site regularly updated …

(WordPress frequently releases new version updates to address any security weaknesses found)

WordPress Vs Proprietary Platforms

We’ve just seen that one of the security advantages of using an ”open” platform like WordPress is that users benefit from a large community of developers who continually contribute to make the software more secure. By contrast, a proprietary or “closed-source” CMS application is built by a small team of developers with limited time and resources to provide continuous security monitoring, software maintenance, bug fixes and updates.

The WordPress CMS is 100% free to download, modify and use, and thousands of volunteers and expert developers work on improving the platform. Can a proprietary CMS company afford to employ as many developers and programmers and still deliver users a completely free CMS application that they can download, use and modify as they wish?

WordPress CMS Vs Other Open Source CMS Applications

(CMS Platforms include WordPress, Joomla and Drupal)

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

For example, the chart below shows the number of security vulnerabilities discovered in popular platforms during a given period …

(WordPress experiences fewer security vulnerabilities than other CMS applications. Screenshot: National Vulnerability Database)

Other studies also indicate that, because WordPress is easy to use and to update, when sites across different CMS platforms were tested for security issues, sites run on WordPress had fewer exposure to risk …

(BlogDefender.com – CMS Tests. Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)

Don’t Blame WordPress

If someone compromises the security of your WordPress site, don’t be quick to blame WordPress.

According to a report called “Compromised Websites: An Owner’s Perspective,” which is published by a nonprofit organization that helps webmasters identify, remediate and prevent website compromises called StopBadware and security vendor Commtouch, most webmasters have no idea about the security threats their websites are exposed to, how to properly secure a website, or deal with security compromises.

In fact, over 60% of webmasters surveyed in this report didn’t know how their sites were compromised by hackers after an attack …

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

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

(Many WordPress users have not updated their WP software. 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 found in the WordPress core software, while most security issues are found in plug-ins and developed externally …

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

Like all robust web applications, WordPress is regularly updated in order to deal with new security threats that may arise. Improving security is always a concern, and to that end, you should always keep up to date with the latest version of WordPress.

WordPress Is Used By Many Security-Conscious Businesses!

The amount of misinformation online about how secure WordPress is has even caused the co-founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg, 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 security …

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 around the world choose WordPress to build their presence online, including banks, global corporations, and e-commerce sites, not just bloggers.

Other Factors Affecting Website Security

Other areas that can affect website security include issues such as:

• No platform is completely protected from hackers. As many as 90% of all websites across all platforms are vulnerable to attack, mostly due to outdated software.
• The main security risk in all web platforms seems to be the users themselves. For example, many users ignore good password security practices.
• Lack of constant system monitoring. All security systems need to be regularly monitored, tested, updated and improved.
• Webhosting setup. For example, websites on shared webhosting are only as secure as the least secure website on the hosting grid, so if another user has a weak FTP password on your shared server, then all sites on the server become vulnerable.

There’s No Reason Why You Should Not Choose WordPress

As this article has hopefully shown, WordPress is quite secure. As long as you commit to implementing basic website security measures (which all website owners should do) and keep your WordPress software (and themes, plugins, etc.) up-to-date, there’s really no reason not to use WordPress for your website or blog.

WordPress Security – Useful Tips

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

An unsecured site offers malicious users with a platform to launch distributed attacks, spread malware and engage in information theft. Blog Defender Security Plugin for WordPress makes your WordPress site invisible to bot and hacker attacks. Go here to learn more:

• Protect Your WP Blogs From Hackers & Bots With Blog Defender WordPress Security Plugin

If you are currently using an outdated WordPress version remember to back up everything before updating your software to protect your site from the latest security threats. This way, if something goes wrong, you can always restore your web site or blog to its previous settings.

If you don’t want to back up your data manually, there are a number of plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here: Backup, Duplicate & Protect Your WP Site With Backup Creator WP Plugin

References Used In This Article

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, the above information has given you a better understanding of issues that can affect your web site and how WordPress can help you improve your business online. To learn more about the security benefits of using WordPress please click on links to visit our related posts section or subscribe to receive updates and notifications whenever new articles or tutorials are published.

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