In April 2013 a worldwide brute-force attack struck WordPress installations on virtually every WP host server in existence around the world.

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

(WordPress powers millions of websites around the world, which makes it a frequent target for attempted attacks by hackers)

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

(Over 160,000 WordPress sites were attacked in a massive DDoS attack in early 2014. Screenshot 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 websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.

Whenever brute force attacks on WordPress sites increase in frequency, it’s natural for people to start questioning just how safe and secure WordPress is as a software for building and running their sites.

WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system which makes it a natural target for malicious attempts by hackers. But do you need to 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 choosing WordPress if you are at all 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 scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, 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 no longer a matter of if, but a matter of 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 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 platforms like WordPress, Drupal and Joomla are free to use and anyone has access to the entire software code.

The argument, then, goes something like this: If everyone can view the Open Source code for WordPress, then hackers can also easily get hold of all of the code and study every line, looking for vulnerabilities in the code that can be exploited …

(It’s not a matter of if, but when before your website is targeted by malicious hackers … WordPress or no WordPress!)

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

This is because WordPress has the support of a global volunteer community that consists of hundreds of people such as software programmers, plugin developers and theme designers who constantly help to improve the software and make WordPress more secure …

(With WordPress, a community of thousands of volunteers worldwide is responsible for keeping the code maintained and updated. Image: make.wordpress.org)

WordPress continually evolves largely through the effort of a global community working around the clock to fix issues. It benefits from hundreds of individuals dedicated to improving the application, identifying and fixing security issues and making WordPress safer for every user …

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

The moment that any security problem is identified by developers or users, the WordPress developers are then made aware of it …

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

The WordPress community support system, therefore, is solid and formidable and anyone can help contribute to the process of fixing security issues.

For example:

• If you notice 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 also report these by notifying plugins@wordpress.org.

This is why the WordPress community releases new updates so often, and why you need to keep your WordPress sites and blogs regularly maintained …

(WordPress continually releases new updates to plug any security weaknesses found)

WordPress Vs Proprietary CMS Applications

Contrast what we have just discussed above with proprietary platforms where often a much smaller team with limited resources is responsible for monitoring and improving software security, fixing bugs, etc., and you will very quickly understand the security benefits of using WordPress to run your business presence online on a secure platform.

WordPress is 100% free to download, modify and use, and hundreds 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 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 how many security vulnerabilities were discovered in popular CMS platforms …

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

Other studies also show that, because WordPress is quite easy to use and to update, when sites across different CMS platforms were tested for security exploits, WordPress sites had significantly less exposure to risk …

(WordPress users are less exposed to security vulnerabilities than other CMS platform users. Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)

Don’t Blame The Technology

When WordPress sites get attacked, 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“, most webmasters are not fully aware of the security threats their websites are exposed to, how to properly secure a website, or how to deal with security compromises.

In fact, over 60% of webmasters surveyed for the report didn’t even know how their sites had been hacked after an attack …

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

Of more immediate concern, however, is the fact that many security issues 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. Source: Sucuri.net)

When WordPress security issues were examined in more detail, it was found that only a small percentage of vulnerabilities discovered in 3rd-party code are actually 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 address new security problems that may arise. Improving software security is always a concern, and to that end, you should always keep up to date with the latest version of WordPress.

WordPress … Good Enough For Banks To Use!

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

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 around the world, including banks, large organizations and e-commerce sites use WordPress to build their presence online, not just bloggers.

Other Areas That Can Affect Security

Other research on issues that play a role in website security point to factors such as:

• No platform is safe from hacking. 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 threat of all web platforms seems to be the users themselves. For example, many users ignore strong password security practices.
• Lack of constant system monitoring. All security processes require constant monitoring, testing, updating and improvement.
• Server setup. For example, websites on shared hosting are only as secure as the least secure website on the grid, so if another user on your shared server gets their site hacked into, then every site on your server becomes vulnerable to being hacked also.

There’s No Reason Why You Should Not Use WordPress

As you can see, WordPress is as secure as most other leading web platforms being used by businesses to build their presence online. As long as you remember to implement basic web security measures (which all website owners should do, regardless of their chosen technology platform) and keep your WordPress software (and themes, plugins, etc.) regularly updated, there is no reason not to choose WordPress to power your website or blog.

WordPress Security – Practical Tips

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

A compromised site offers hackers with a valuable platform for launching denial of service attacks, spreading malware and as a source of information theft. Blog Defender WordPress Security Plugin makes your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets. Learn more about it here:

• How To Prevent Malicious Cyber Attacks On Your WP Blogs By Hackers And Botnets

If you are currently using an outdated version of WordPress make sure you back up your files before updating your software to protect your site from the latest security risks. This way, if things don’t go as planned, you can always restore.

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 backup process here: Back Up, Duplicate & Protect Your WP Web Sites With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

References Used In This Article

For more information on the above, refer to the sites below:

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

Hopefully, this information has given you a better understanding of problems that can affect your website and how WordPress can help you get better business results online. To learn more about using the WP CMS platform please click on links to visit our related posts section or subscribe to receive updates and notifications when new articles are published.

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