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

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

(Powering millions of websites and blogs worldwide makes WordPress a target for hacking)

In March 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com began reporting that 160,000+ WordPress sites had been hacked.

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

Whenever attacks on WordPress sites are reported in the media, it’s natural for website owners to ask just how secure the WordPress platform is for running an online presence.

WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system making it a target for hacking attacks. 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 consider using WordPress if you have any concerns about website security.

WordPress Security Explained

Let’s start by looking at some facts …

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

The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and things are only going to get 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 tries to hack your website, are there any advantages that WordPress can offer you in terms of security?

”How Can Open Source Software Be Kept Safe From Hackers?”

Many people argue that WordPress should not be used for running a website or blog because its “open source” code is freely available.

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

The argument against using WordPress, then, goes something like this: If everyone can study the Open Source code for WordPress, then hackers can also easily obtain the code and go through every line in detail, looking for vulnerabilities that could 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 free to download and hackers can easily go through the code looking for security holes or 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 many ways.

The reason for this is that WordPress is supported by an open community of hundreds of software programmers, plugin developers and theme designers who constantly help improve the program and make WordPress more secure …

(An open community is responsible for building and updating the WordPress core application. Screenshot image: WordPress.org)

WordPress evolves through the effort of a global volunteer community working around the clock to fix any issues detected by users. Everyone benefits from thousands of minds who are dedicated to improving the application, fixing bugs and making it safer for every user …

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

The moment that any security hole is discovered by developers or users, the WordPress developers are then notified …

(WordPress is continually being improved upon by thousands of committed individuals community of users and developers. Screenshot image: WordPress.org)

The WordPress community support system is very responsive and anybody can contribute to the improvement of the software.

For example:

• If you find bugs or a security vulnerability, you can report these by emailing security@wordpress.org.
• If you find any issues in a plugin, you can also report these by emailing plugins@wordpress.org.

This is why the WordPress community is constantly releasing new version updates, and why you need to keep your sites and blogs regularly maintained …

(WordPress frequently releases new version updates to address security vulnerabilities)

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 platform more secure. By contrast, a proprietary or “closed-source” CMS application is typically built by a small team of developers with limited time and resources to provide continuous security monitoring, support, bug fixes and updates.

WordPress is 100% free to download, use and modify, 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 you software that is 100% free to download, use and modify as you wish?

WordPress 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 the WordPress CMS is actually safer than other Open Source CMS platforms such as Drupal and Joomla.

For example, here is one study showing how many security vulnerabilities were found in popular open source platforms during a certain period …

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

Other research indicates that, because WordPress is easy to use and maintain, when sites using different CMS platforms were tested for security issues, sites run on WordPress had fewer exposure to risk …

(WordPress users are not as exposed to security vulnerabilities as other CMS platform users. Source: BlogDefender.com)

WordPress Is Not At Fault

Whenever WordPress sites are subjected to brute-force attacks, you shouldn’t be too quick to place the blame on WordPress.

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

In fact, over 60% of webmasters surveyed in this report didn’t know how their websites had been compromised after an attack …

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

Of immediate concern is the fact that many security problems seem to be related to site owners forgetting to update their CMS software to the latest version …

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

When WordPress security issues were examined in more detail, it was found that only between 25% – 35% percent of vulnerabilities discovered in third-party code are found in the WordPress core software, while 70% – 80% percent of all security issues are found in plug-ins and developed externally for WordPress …

(WordPress Security Issues. Screenshot image: WebDesign.org)

Like many software platforms, WordPress is updated regularly in order to address new security issues that could arise. Improving security is always a concern, and to that end, you should always keep your WordPress software, plugins, and themes up-to-date.

WordPress Is Used By Many Security-Conscious Businesses!

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

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

Other Issues That Can Affect Security

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

• No platform is safe from hacking. As many as 90% of all websites across all platforms are vulnerable to being attacked, mostly due to using software that is out of date.
• The main risk of all content management systems seems to be the users themselves. For example, many users ignore strong password security practices.
• Lack of constant monitoring. Security systems need to be frequently monitored, tested, updated and improved.
• Webhosting server setup. For example, sites on shared hosting servers are only as safe as the least secure site on the hosting grid, so if someone else on your shared server gets their site hacked into, then every site on the shared server can potentially become vulnerable to being hacked also.

There Is No Reason To Avoid Choosing WordPress

As you can see, WordPress is quite secure. As long as you commit to implementing basic web security measures (which all website owners should do, regardless of their web platform) and keep your WordPress software (and plugins, themes, etc.) updated, there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t choose WordPress.

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

An unsecured blog provides hackers with a platform to launch denial of service attacks, spread malware and use your website to defraud others. Blog Defender Security Plugin for WordPress makes your WordPress site invisible to bots and hackers. Learn more about it here:

• Prevent Malicious Attacks On Your WP Web Site From Hackers & Bots With Blog Defender Security Plugin

If you are currently using an outdated WordPress version remember to back up your website fully 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 many plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here: Backup, Copy & Protect Your WordPress Sites With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

Article References

The above statistics 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 problems that can affect your web site and how WordPress can help you expand your business online. To learn more about using WordPress for a business website or blog please see other posts published on this site or subscribe to receive updates and notifications when new articles are published.

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