In April 2013 a worldwide brute force attack hit WordPress installations across virtually every host server in existence.

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

(WordPress is the world’s most used CMS which makes it a target for attempted hacker attacks)

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

(Over 160,000 WordPress sites were attacked in a massive DDoS attack in early 2014. Image source: 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 described by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WP web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.

When global brute-force attacks happen on WordPress sites, it’s natural for website owners to start questioning just how safe and secure WordPress is as an application for running their websites.

WordPress is frequently the target of malicious attempts by hackers, due to its global popularity. But should you really be concerned about WordPress as being a secure web platform?

In this article, you will learn some of the main reasons why you should consider using WordPress if you are at all concerned about website security.

WordPress Security Explained

Let’s start with the facts …

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

The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and the situation is only going to get worse.

It’s probably 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 a matter of when before a malicious user will attempt to hack your website, are there any advantages that WordPress can offer you in terms of security?

The “Open Source” Software Argument

Many people will often try to argue that WordPress cannot be a secure platform for running a website or blog because having open source code means that anyone can view how the program runs.

Open source CMS software like WordPress, Drupal and Joomla are free to use and anyone has access to the underlying software code.

The argument against using WordPress, then, goes something like this: If anyone can examine the Open Source code for WordPress, then hackers can easily get hold of the code and study it in detail, searching for security vulnerabilities that could be exploited …

(It’s no longer a matter of if, but when before your website is 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 security vulnerabilities or weaknesses they can exploit (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 a number of ways.

The reason for this is that WordPress is supported by an open volunteer community comprised of thousands of 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 thousands of web developers is responsible for keeping the software platform maintained and updated. Screenshot: WordPress.org)

WordPress continually evolves because of the effort of a global volunteer community working around the clock to fix issues. Everyone benefits from thousands of web developers, designers and users dedicated to improving the application, fixing bugs and making the WordPress platform safer for every user …

(The WordPress core software is built and maintained by a large community of contributors. Image source: WordPress.org)

The moment any security vulnerabilities are identified by developers or users, these are normally logged in user forums and addressed by the WordPress core development team …

(WordPress is continually being improved by a global community community of web developers and users. Screenshot: make.wordpress.org)

The WordPress community support system, therefore, is solid and formidable and anyone can contribute to fixing the software.

For example:

• If you come across bugs or security vulnerabilities, you can report these by notifying security@wordpress.org.
• If you find any issues in a WordPress plugin, you can report these by emailing plugins@wordpress.org.

This is why the core development team is constantly releasing new version updates, and why you continually need to keep your sites and blogs regularly updated …

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

WordPress CMS Vs Proprietary Applications

Compare what we have just discussed above with proprietary CMS technologies where often the responsibility for improving software security, fixing bugs, etc. falls to a smaller team of developers with limited resources and you will quickly understand the value and advantages of using WordPress to power your business web presence on a secure platform.

The WordPress CMS is 100% free to download, modify and use, 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 users a completely free platform that they can download, use and modify as they wish?

WordPress CMS Vs Other Open Source CMS Platforms

(CMS Platforms)

Whilst on the topic of Open Source content management applications, there is valid research to support the fact that WordPress is actually safer than other Open Source CMS platforms such as Drupal and Joomla.

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

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

Other studies also indicate that, because WordPress is easy to use and maintain, when sites using different CMS platforms were tested for security issues, sites built with WordPress had fewer exposure to risk …

(Blog Defender – CMS Tests. Image source: BlogDefender.com)

Don’t Blame WordPress

If someone hacks into your WordPress site, don’t be quick to place the blame on WordPress.

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

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

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

Of more immediate concern is the fact that most security issues seem to be related to users simply not upgrading their WordPress software to the latest version …

(Many WordPress sites are running on outdated versions. Image: Sucuri.net)

When WordPress security issues were looked at in more detail, it was found that only around between 20% – 35% percent of vulnerabilities discovered in third-party code are actually found in the WordPress core software, while 70% – 85% percent of all security issues are found in plug-ins and extensions created by third-party developers …

(WP Security Issues. Image: WebDesign.org)

Like many modern software applications, WordPress is updated regularly in order to address new security threats that may arise. Improving security is always a concern, and to that end, you should always keep your WordPress site, plugins, and themes updated to the latest version.

WordPress Is Secure – Even Banks Are Using It!

The amount of misinformation online about WordPress security has even caused Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress, to chime into the debate.

In a blog post entitled “A Bank Website on WordPress” posted 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 use WordPress to build their websites, including banks, large organizations, and e-commerce sites, not just bloggers.

Other Factors That Can Affect WP Website Security

Other areas that can affect WordPress site security include factors such as:

• No platform is completely safe from security threats. As many as 90% of all websites across all platforms are vulnerable to attack, mostly due to using software that is out of date.
• The main security vulnerability of all web platforms seems to be the users themselves. An example of this is users ignoring good password security practices.
• Lack of constant monitoring. All security processes require regular monitoring, testing, updating and improvement.
• Hosting server setup. For example, sites on shared webhosting are only as secure as the least secure website on the grid, so if another user has a weak FTP password on your shared server, then every site on that shared server can potentially become vulnerable.

There Is No Reason To Avoid Choosing WordPress

As this article has hopefully shown, WordPress is quite secure. As long as you commit to implementing basic web security measures and keep your WordPress software (and themes, plugins, etc.) up-to-date, there is no reason why you should not choose WordPress.

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 blog provides malicious users with a valuable resource for launching distributed attacks, spreading malware and engage in information theft. Blog Defender Security Plugin for WordPress makes your WordPress site invisible to botnets and hackers. Learn more about it here:

• Protect Your WP Blogs From Hackers And Botnets With Blog Defender Security Plugin

If you are currently using an older version of WordPress make sure to back up your files before updating your software to benefit from the latest security updates. This way, if something goes wrong, you can always restore.

If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of WordPress plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here: Back Up, Clone And Keep Your WP Websites And Blogs Protected With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

References

The statistics quoted in this article 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 post has given you a better understanding of issues that can affect your web site and how WordPress can help you grow your business online. To learn more about using WordPress please see our related posts section or subscribe to receive updates and notifications when new articles or tutorials are published.

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