In early 2013 a global brute force attack struck WordPress installations across almost every WP hosting server in existence.

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

(Being the world’s most popular content management system makes WordPress a target for hacker attacks)

In March 2014, technology sites began reporting that 160,000+ WordPress-powered web sites had been hacked.

(160,000+ WordPress sites were attacked in a massive DDoS attack in March 2014. Image: Blog Defender)

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 reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.

Whenever worldwide brute-force attacks happen on WordPress sites, it’s natural for people to ask if WordPress really is a secure platform for building and running their websites.

Being the world’s most used CMS makes WordPress an obvious 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 consider using WordPress if you have any concerns about website security.

WordPress Security Explained

Let’s start by looking at facts …

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

The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and it’s getting 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 not a matter of if, but when before someone will try to hack your website, are there any advantages that WordPress can offer you in terms of security?

How Secure Is “Open Source” Software?

Some people will often try to argue that WordPress should not be used for building and running websites because its “open source” code is freely available.

Open source CMS programs like WordPress, Drupal and Joomla are free to use and anyone can have access to the software code.

The argument, then, goes something like this: If everyone can view the Open Source software code for WordPress, then hackers can also easily get hold of all of the code and go through every single line in detail, searching for holes and weaknesses in the code that can be exploited …

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

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

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

(With WordPress, an open community of volunteers around the world is responsible for keeping the core application code up-to-date. Source: make.wordpress.org)

WordPress evolves largely through the effort of a global community working around the clock to fix any issues detected by users. It benefits from hundreds of web developers, designers and users who, at any one time, are focused on improving the code, identifying and fixing security issues and making the WordPress platform safer for every user …

(WordPress is built and maintained by an open community of WordPress users. Screenshot image: make.wordpress.org)

The moment any security issues are identified by developers or users, the WordPress core development team are then made aware of it …

(WordPress is continually being improved upon by thousands of committed individuals community of users and developers. Image source: make.wordpress.org)

The WordPress community support system is quite formidable and anybody can help contribute to the process of getting vulnerabilities plugged.

For example:

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

This is one of the reasons why the WordPress team is constantly releasing new security updates, and why you need to keep your WordPress sites and blogs up-to-date …

(WordPress continually releases new updates to plug security holes)

WordPress Vs Proprietary Platforms

Compare the benefits of using an open source CMS platform like WordPress with proprietary CMS technologies where often a small team with limited time and resources is responsible for developing, monitoring and maintaining software security, fixing bugs, etc., and you will quickly realize the value and advantages of using WordPress to run your website or blog on a secure platform.

WordPress is free to download, modify and use, and thousands of volunteers and expert developers are continually working to improve the software. Can a proprietary technology company afford to employ as many developers and programmers and still deliver users software that is 100% free to 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 to support the fact that WordPress is safer than other Open Source CMS platforms like Drupal and Joomla.

For example, the chart below shows the number of security vulnerabilities discovered in each of these open source CMS platforms …

(National Vulnerability Database – Security Vulnerabilities IN CMS Applications. Screenshot source: National Vulnerability Database)

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

(WordPress is more secure than other CMS platforms. Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)

Don’t Blame WordPress

When WordPress sites get subjected to brute-force attacks, you shouldn’t be quick to blame WordPress.

According to security organizations Commtouch and StopBadware in a published report entitled “Compromised Websites: An Owner’s Perspective“, a large number of website owners are not fully aware of the security threats their websites are exposed to, how to secure a website, or how to deal with web security compromises.

In fact, 63% of webmasters surveyed in this report didn’t even know how their websites were compromised after an attack …

(Most webmasters don’t even know how their sites got hacked. Screenshot: StopBadware.org)

Of more immediate concern for WordPress users, is the fact that most security problems seem to be related to users running WordPress on outdated versions of the software …

(Many security issues come from sites running an outdated version of WordPress. Screenshot image: 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 CMS core, while most security issues are found in plug-ins and developed externally …

(WP Security Issues. Screenshot: WebDesign.org)

Like many modern software platforms, WordPress is updated regularly in order to address new security threats that can arise. Improving security is an ongoing concern, and to that end, you should always keep your WordPress site, plugins, and themes up-to-date.

WordPress Is Secure – Even Banks Are Using It!

The amount of misinformation about how secure WordPress is has even led Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress, to chime in and reply to posts online.

In a blog post 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 around the world choose WordPress to build their websites, including banks, large organizations, and e-commerce sites, not just bloggers.

Other Factors That Can Affect Blog Security

Other areas that can affect security include factors like:

• No platform is completely protected from security threats. As many as 90% of all websites across all platforms are vulnerable to being attacked, mostly due to outdated software.
• The biggest weakness in all content management systems seems to be the users themselves. For example, many users ignore good password security recommendations.
• Lack of constant monitoring. All security processes require frequent monitoring, testing, updating and improvement.
• Server setup. For example, sites on shared hosting accounts are only as safe as the least safe website on the hosting grid, so if someone else on your shared server gets their site broken into, then all sites on the server can potentially become vulnerable.

There’s No Reason Why You Shouldn’t 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, regardless of their web platform) and keep your WordPress software (and themes, plugins, etc.) regularly up-to-date, there is really no reason not to use WordPress to power your web site or blog.

WordPress Security – Tips

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

A vulnerable site offers malicious users with a platform for launching distributed attacks, spreading malware and engage in information theft. Blog Defender Security Plugin makes your WordPress site invisible to attacks from hackers and bots. Go here to learn more:

• Make Your Site Unseen By Hackers And Botnets With Blog Defender

If you are currently using an older WordPress version remember to back up your website fully before updating your software to protect your site from the latest security threats. This way, if things don’t go as planned, you can always restore things back to their previous state.

If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many free and paid plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here: Backup, Duplicate And Protect Your WP Website With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

Article References

The statistics quoted above 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, now you have a better understanding of issues that can affect your website and how WordPress can help you get better business results online. To learn more about using WordPress please see other posts we have published on this site or subscribe to receive updates and notifications when new articles are published.

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