Why is It Important to Ensure Wordpress Site Security

With each passing year, the rate of cyber attacks is increasing, and many WordPress users are still oblivious of how vital web security is. Managing a website is not just launching and running it, protection should also be a priority.

If you want to be more aware of the issue and learn how you can secure your WordPress site, read on to find out!

Why Most WordPress Sites are Lacking Security?

WordPress is well known for being an open-source content management system that is free to use by anyone. Not only is it’s very much open to malicious attacks, but the probability of a hacked WordPress site is high due to how popular it is among webmasters.

But not to worry, the core software of WordPress itself is very secure. For in-depth knowledge about WordPress, you can check Hosting Wiki. The vulnerability to unauthorized access is mostly due to issues that are most of the time preventable.

WordPress has a wide range of users from newbies with limited knowledge in web management to expert developers, and anyone can be a target. Those who don’t update their core software, apps, or plugins regularly have a higher chance of getting hacked.

Using simple passwords and not backing up your website are a few common factors that can also lead to your site being accessed without your permission.

Why Websites are Being Hacked?

There are many reasons why a person would hack a website. Like any other crimes, one of the most common motives would be financial gain. Hackers can sell the private and financial information obtained by illegal access to third parties or use them for ransom.

Others hack for personal satisfaction, either because it’s challenging, to relieve boredom, or it’s done just for the fun of it. Some even see it as a practice to improve their skills before doing more significant hacking-related projects or jobs.

Political agendas can also be the reason why a website is hacked. A group of hackers can infiltrate government or influential company sites to send a message of change or fighting for rights like the Omega and the Anonymous.

How Hackers Can Affect Your Business?

If you have an online business or a company that depends on its website, the impact of a cyber attack can be fatal. Keep on reading to know how it can affect you.

Decreasing Site Speed

Many factors can cause the slow loading time of a website. But if you find that there are no problems with your web host provider and you know that you haven’t used up your storage or bandwidth, then you should check whether your site has been hacked.

Many cybercriminals hack websites to store tons of illegal files, information, media, etc. and run them on other people’s servers. This can decrease a website’s speed and eventually affect the performance as well. It will result in traffic loss and a drop in SEO rankings.

Completely Crashed Site

Not only your website’s speed will decline, but it can also crash altogether. If you or your developer isn’t continuously modifying the site and it crashes with a “PAGE NOT FOUND - 404 ERROR” message, then you should check right away if the website has been hacked.

A hacker might have made changes or modifications to your website, resulting in a crash. When this happens, traffic won’t be reaching your site at all. The effects of that can make a negative impact on your business.

Data and Identity Theft

One of the major reasons why websites are getting hacked is because of confidential data. You and your customers' private information can be stolen. This will lead to the chance of becoming victims of identity theft. For this hackers often employ Man-in-the-Middle attacks.

The hackers can utilize the data for themselves, such as using credit card information to make purchases or blackmail the website owner. In worse case scenarios, they can sell them to organizations that associate with illegal businesses.

Suspended Account

When hackers infiltrate your website, they can use your IP address to launch spam emails and attack other targeted sites. However, web host companies can easily track down IP addresses that are harming other users through the email server.

So if your IP address is used to send out malware through spam emails, your hosting provider will find out, and your account can be suspended. You will lose time in trying to set your site up again

Suspended Account

The biggest impact that you will experience is losing your brand’s reputation. If your financial and client’s data got stolen, then their trust in you will completely disappear. You can even be held legally responsible for the damages upon your customers.

You will lose precious assets, time, resources, and your good name. It’s going to be hard to recover. Plus building things back up can’t guarantee you the same success you had before.

Tips to Ensure Security

To protect your website(s) from a security breach, we’ve compiled a few tips below:

• Don’t think that hackers are not interested in your website. They can hack hundreds of sites in a single attack. So there's still a chance that your website will be affected. Be aware and alert at all times. Monitor your website.
• Always update your WordPress core as the developers are always adding security precautions.
• Install WordPress security plugins such as Wordfence Security, Securi Security, and so on. Other than that, make sure to update all of your plugins to the current versions.
• Update your computer’s firewall and antivirus software. Protecting your computer can help secure your website from simple malware attacks, that may eventually find a way onto your hosting account.
• Pick a web hosting provider that updates their security regularly, and make sure to back up your website daily or weekly.
• Incorporate email encryption and never share your credentials through emails.
• If you’re adding scripts from other developers, make sure to use the current versions and remember to erase the installation files.

Conclusion

Managing a website is almost a full-time job as not only does it need to be functioning 24/7, but the security should always be up to date, and under monitoring. Since WordPress is currently the most used CMS, hackers tend to target WordPress sites. If you are one of its users, then you need to step up your game before they get to you.