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

These attacks were caused by botnets (computer networks infected with viruses and programmed to attack other sites).

(WordPress often is targeted by hackers)

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

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

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

When brute-force attacks on WordPress sites happen, it’s natural for website owners to start asking just how safe and secure WordPress is as a platform for building and running websites.

WordPress often is targeted by hackers, due to its global popularity. But should you be concerned about WordPress as a secure web platform?

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

WordPress Security Explained

Let’s start with some facts …

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

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

It’s probably safe to assume that if your website or blog hasn’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 your website has been built with!

Since it’s not a matter of if, but when before a malicious user attempts to hack your website, are there any advantages that WordPress can offer you in terms of security?

”How Can Open Source Software Applications Be Protected From Hacking?”

Some people argue that WordPress should not be used for building and running websites or blogs because it is a freely available open source software.

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

The argument against WordPress, then, goes something like this: If anyone can examine the Open Source code for WordPress, then hackers can also easily obtain the code and go through every single line in detail, searching for weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the code that could be exploited …

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

While it’s true that WordPress is free to download and hackers can easily access it and study the code looking for holes or vulnerabilities that can be exploited (hackers can do the same with any software), the fact that WordPress is a free, open-source software platform actually makes it a lot more secure in a number of ways.

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

(With WordPress, a global community of web developers is responsible for keeping the core application maintained and updated. Screenshot: WordPress.org)

WordPress evolves largely through the effort of a huge community working around the clock to fix issues. Everyone benefits from thousands of minds who, at any one time, are focused on improving the code and making WordPress safer for every user …

(WordPress is built and maintained by a large community of web developers. Image source: WordPress.org)

The moment that a security issue is discovered by developers or users, the WordPress development team are then notified …

(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 solid and formidable and anyone can contribute to securing the platform.

For example:

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

This is why the core development team is constantly releasing new version updates, and why you need to keep your WordPress site frequently up-to-date …

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

WordPress Vs Proprietary CMS Platforms

We’ve just seen that one of the security advantages of using an ”open” technology like WordPress is that users benefit from a large community of developers who continually contribute to improve code security. By contrast, a proprietary or “closed-source” CMS application is normally developed 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, use and modify, and thousands of volunteers and expert developers work on improving the platform. 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 Vs Other Open Source CMS Platforms

(CMS Platforms include WordPress, Joomla and Drupal)

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

For example, the chart below shows how many security vulnerabilities were discovered in popular open source CMS platforms …

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

Other research shows that, because WordPress is quite easy to use and keep updated, when sites using different CMS platforms were tested for security exploits, sites run on WordPress had fewer exposure to risk …

(WordPress is safer to use than other leading CMS platforms. Image: BlogDefender.com)

Don’t Blame The WordPress CMS

Whenever WordPress sites get attacked, don’t be too 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“, a large number of webmasters are not fully aware of 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 for the report didn’t know how their websites had been compromised after an attack …

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

Of more immediate concern is the fact that most security problems seem to be related to site owners running sites with an outdated version of WordPress …

(Many security issues come from sites running an outdated version of WordPress. Image: Sucuri.net)

When WordPress security issues were examined in more detail, it was found that only between 20% – 35% percent 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. Image source: WebDesign.org)

Like many web applications, WordPress is regularly updated to address new security risks that could arise. Improving software security is an ongoing concern, and to that end, you should always keep your WordPress site, plugins, and themes updated to the latest version.

WordPress … Good Enough For Banks To Use!

The amount of misinformation about WordPress security 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 web presence, including banks, large organizations, and e-commerce sites, not just bloggers.

Other Areas That Can Affect Security

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

• No platform is safe from hackers. As many as 90% of all websites across all platforms are vulnerable to being attacked, mostly due to using outdated software.
• The biggest vulnerability in all CMS platforms seems to be the users themselves. For example, many users ignore good password security practices.
• Lack of constant monitoring. All security systems require regular monitoring, testing, updating and improvement.
• Server setup. For example, sites on shared webhosting servers are only as safe as the least secure website on the grid, so if someone else has a weak FTP password on your shared server, then all sites on that server can potentially become vulnerable.

There’s No Reason Why You Shouldn’t Choose WordPress

As you can see, WordPress is as secure as most other 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 (which all website owners should do) and keep your WordPress software (and themes, plugins, etc.) up-to-date, there’s really no reason to avoid choosing WordPress to drive your website or blog.

WordPress Security – Tips

To learn about ways to protect your WordPress site from brute force attacks see this article:  WordPress Brute Force Attack Prevention Measures

An unsecured blog offers hackers with a valuable platform for launching distributed attacks, spreading malware and engage in information theft. Blog Defender Security Plugin makes your WordPress site invisible to bot and hacker attacks. Learn more about it here:

• Prevent Malicious Cyber Attacks On Your WordPress Web Sites From Hackers With Blog Defender Security Plugin

If you are currently using an older WordPress version remember to back up your WordPress website before updating your software to protect your site from the latest security threats. This way, if something goes wrong, you can always restore your site to its former state.

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

Article References

The above facts were sourced from the following sites:

• 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 build a better business online. To learn more about the security benefits of using WordPress for a business website please see other posts published on this site or subscribe to receive updates and notifications whenever new content is published.

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