Top reasons why WordPress websites get hacked (and how you can stop it)
Hacking is the act of discovering flaws in a system and using them to overpower security measures. This technique is used by ethical hackers to discover the ins and outs of a system in order to identify its vulnerabilities. Malicious or “black hat” hacking, on the other hand, is not uncommon. It’s usually done to gain access to websites.
WordPress sites are frequently targeted by hackers for a variety of reasons. One of them is the platform’s sheer popularity. You’ll better understand how to safeguard your website if you know what these reasons are.
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In this post, Web design Singapore team will go through the reasons why people hack websites. Then we’ll discuss why WordPress is so reviled. Let’s talk about how to keep your WordPress site safe!
Why people hack websites
Thousands of websites are hacked every day. WordPress sites account for a disproportionately high number of those breaches. Over 30% of all web pages are powered by WordPress.
Web design Singapore team know that many consumers believe that their websites are secure since they don’t contain valuable or critical business information. However, there are several other reasons why sites get hacked, including:
- to spread malware,
- adding bandwidth to bot networks, which are often used for Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks,
- Black hat Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- just for practice and fun.
The fact is, no website is entirely immune to the risk of being targeted. It will be attacked as soon as it goes online.
4 reasons why WordPress websites get targeted
There are several reasons why WordPress websites should be secured, but these aren’t the only ones. Let’s look at some of them by Web design Singapore team.
1. WordPress is the most popular CMS
WordPress is currently used on over 30% of the internet. There are presently around 1.5 billion websites on the internet, with WordPress powering approximately a third of them (although not all of them are live at this moment). This indicates that approximately a third of those using WordPress do so.
This is excellent news in some instances. It indicates that WordPress development will not come to a halt soon, and you’ll always have a great community to assist you. The issue is that because WordPress is so popular, it’s like a gold mine for hackers.
Web design Singapore team state that consider what would happen if a critical vulnerability was discovered in a popular WordPress plugin. Such an exploit could wreak havoc on millions of web sites, as has occurred in the past. Of course, plugins aren’t the only problem here; it’s all part of our next point.
2. Many WordPress websites lack basic security
There are several things you can do to guard your website from attacks. The good news is that many security best practices aren’t as difficult to put into place as you might believe.
No two-factor authentication
To reduce the risks of identity theft, web design Singapore team recommend that you implement two-factor authentication (2FA). It may be set up in minutes using a WordPress two-factor authentication plugin. In addition, it considerably lowers the likelihood of attackers gaining access to your website even if they’ve stolen account credentials.
No security hardening and protection
It also takes very little time to set up and configure a WordPress security plugin. MalCare and Sucuri, two of favorite plugins, provide a wide range of features, including as firewall protection and malware scanning.
No records and activity logs
Web design Miami team state that another important WordPress security precaution is to maintain a WordPress activity log. This allows you to keep track of virtually everything that happens on your website, from unsuccessful login attempts to modifications in your site’s files.
3. Weak password use is endemic
While WordPress sites are more secure than most, the passwords of your WordPress users are the first line of defense. If someone learns your admin credentials, they will have access to all aspects of your website – not a good situation.
Web design Miami team know that users almost always use weak passwords, which is only making the problem worse. Educate your users on what constitutes a strong password. Rather than complexity, concentrate on length when creating tough passwords. Longer passwords are considerably more difficult to figure out and hack. Also, utilize a password manager so that you and your users don’t have to remember complicated passwords.
Implement strong WordPress passwords policies
Similarly, it’s a good idea to have strict password requirements for your website’s users. Use the WPassword plugin to set password expiration, history, complexity, and other security settings.
4. Use of outdated WordPress core, plugins & other software
Vulnerabilities are common in outdated software. When WordPress administrators run old core, plugins, themes, and other software, they leave security holes for hackers to exploit. Unfortunately, they do so all the time; outdated insecure applications are one of the most prevalent causes of hacked WordPress websites.
Web design Miami team explain that this is well-known among attackers. In fact, they frequently utilize free scanning tools and scripts to identify and exploit vulnerable WordPress websites.
Conclusion
WordPress is a very popular blogging platform. It’s simple to use, extremely versatile, and capable of producing stunning websites. WordPress, on the other hand, has some drawbacks. Because of its benefits, WordPress is a tempting target for cybercriminals. Basic security measures may considerably reduce the risk posed by this threat.
How you can stop it
To close on a positive note, here are a few tips by Web design Miami experts that you should follow to counter the above problems:
- Use a WordPress website firewall / security plugin.
- If you don’t have 2FA, then download and install a two-factor authentication (2FA) plugin.
- Keep track of everything that goes on your WordPress site in a diary.
- Install a plugin to create strong password rules.
- Run a WordPress file integrity check.
- Backup your WordPress website.