In 2013, WordPress installations around the world were subjected to global-scale brute force attacks.

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

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

In March 2014, many leading technology sites began reporting that 160,000+ WordPress-powered web 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 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.

When brute-force attacks on WordPress sites happen on such a large scale, it’s natural for website owners to ask if WordPress really is a secure application for running a business web presence.

WordPress is the world’s most popular CMS making it a natural target for hacker attacks. But should you be concerned about WordPress as a secure platform for building your business presence online?

In this article, you will learn some of the main reasons why you should consider using WordPress if you are concerned 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 sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and this is only going to get 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 your website has been built with!

Since it’s no longer 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

Some people argue that WordPress cannot be a safe platform for running a business online 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 underlying software code.

The argument against WordPress, then, goes something like this: If anyone can view the Open Source software code for WordPress, then hackers can easily download the code and study it in detail, searching for vulnerabilities in the code that can be exploited …

(It’s no longer a matter of if, but a matter of when before your website will be targeted by malicious hackers … WordPress or no WordPress!)

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

The reason for this is that WordPress has the support of a global community that consists of hundreds of software programmers, plugin developers and theme designers who constantly help to improve the software and make WordPress more secure …

(With WordPress, a large volunteer community of developers is responsible for keeping the software platform up-to-date. Image: WordPress.org)

WordPress evolves through the effort of a global volunteer community working around the clock to fix issues. Everyone benefits from hundreds of web developers, designers and users dedicated to improving the code, identifying and fixing security issues and making it safer for every user …

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

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

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

The WordPress community support system is solid and formidable and anybody can help contribute to the process of addressing security issues.

For example:

• If you discover bugs and security issues, you can report these by sending an email to security@wordpress.org.
• If you find issues in a plugin, you can report these by notifying plugins@wordpress.org.

This is the reason why the core development team releases new security updates regularly, and why you need to keep your site regularly maintained …

(WordPress frequently releases new version updates to plug security exploits)

WordPress Vs Proprietary Platforms

Compare the benefits of using an open source CMS technology like WordPress with proprietary platforms where often the responsibility for maintaining software security, fixing bugs, etc. falls to a much smaller team of developers with limited resources and you will quickly understand the value and advantages of using WordPress to run your business web presence on a secure platform.

The WordPress CMS is 100% free to download, use and modify, and hundreds of volunteers and expert developers are continually working to improve the platform. Can a proprietary CMS 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 CMS Vs Other Open Source CMS Platforms

(CMS Platforms - WordPress, Joomla and Drupal)

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

For example, here is one study showing the number of security vulnerabilities found in each of these open source CMS platforms …

(WordPress experiences less security vulnerabilities than other CMS platforms. Screenshot source: National Vulnerability Database)

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

(Blog Defender – CMS Tests. Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)

It’s Easier To Blame Technology When Things Go Wrong

If someone compromises the security of your WordPress site, don’t be quick to blame the WordPress CMS platform.

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

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

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

Of more immediate concern for WordPress users, is the fact that many security-related problems come from site owners forgetting to upgrade their WordPress software to the latest version …

(Many WordPress sites use outdated versions. Screenshot source: 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 CMS core, while most security issues are found in plug-ins and developed externally …

(WordPress Security Issues. Source: WebDesign.org)

Like many modern web platforms, WordPress is regularly updated to address new security issues that may arise. Improving security is an ongoing concern, and to that end, you should always keep up to date with the latest version of WordPress software, themes, plugins, etc..

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 in and reply to posts online.

In a post entitled “A Bank Website on WordPress” posted on April 15, 2015, Matt wrote the following about WordPress security …

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 Issues Affecting Security

Other factors 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 main weakness of all CMS platforms seems to be the users themselves. For example, many users ignore strong password security recommendations.
• Lack of constant monitoring. Security systems need to be frequently monitored, tested, updated and improved.
• Server setup. For example, sites on shared hosting are only as secure as the least safe site on the hosting grid, so if someone else has a weak FTP password on your shared server, then every site on the shared server is potentially vulnerable to being hacked as well.

There’s No Reason Why You Should Not Use WordPress

As you can see, WordPress is quite secure. As long as you implement basic website security measures (which all website owners should do, regardless of their chosen technology platform) and keep your WordPress software (and plugins, themes, etc.) regularly up-to-date, there is no reason to avoid choosing WordPress to drive your website or blog.

WordPress Security – Useful Tips

To learn about ways to protect your WordPress site from brute force attacks see this article:  Ten Security Measures That Can Help To Prevent Brute-Force Attacks On WordPress

A vulnerable site offers hackers with a resource for distributed attacks, spreading malware and as a source of information theft. Blog Defender WordPress Security Plugin makes your WordPress site invisible to bots and hackers. Go here to learn more:

• How To Prevent Hackers From Finding Your Websites With Blog Defender Security Plugin

If you are using older WordPress versions make sure you back up your site 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 everything to its former configuration.

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

References

For more information on the above, see the following sources:

• 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 web site and how WordPress can help you expand your business online. To learn more about the security benefits of using the WordPress CMS software please see other posts published on this site or subscribe to receive updates and notifications whenever new articles are published.

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