Today we will know about Common WordPress Security Attacks. WordPress, the developed open-source content management system (CMS), is used by 60% of all websites. Characteristically, it is open-source and can be endlessly customized and deprecated, which can compensate for security. According to the Commonality Score method, 8 out of 10 WordPress sites have a medium- or high-security risk. There are ways to prevent attacks, but the key is to learn about the most common WordPress security issues and then learn how to help them! This blog gives you an overview of the most common WordPress security attacks.
Common WordPress Security Attacks
1. Brute-force
Brute-force: In this attack, bad actors try to guess login information using automatic password generators. Basic Defense: Use strong passwords. For recommendations on how to create strong passwords, see our knowledge article.
2. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
It is a hacking technique where malicious code from user input is injected into web pages and then viewed by site visitors. XSS attacks can potentially expose sensitive information, affect website functionality, and more.
Basic defense: Wherever a website accepts user input, the input should be filtered as strictly as possible based on expected or valid input.
3: SQL injection
In this type of attack, malicious SQL statements are injected through malicious user input. SQL injection attacks can be used to tamper with data, extract sensitive information, and much more.
Basic Defense: Scan your site for SQL injection vulnerabilities using an online website scanning tool such as Sucuri SiteCheck.
4: Backdoor
A backdoor is a malicious code that has a secret way to bypass a website’s login or authentication process.
Basic defense: Make sure your servers have antivirus and firewall protection and are kept up to date. Also, make sure you update WordPress itself and any associated plugins with the latest security patches.
5: Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks
Such attacks make a website inaccessible or unavailable to its users. For example, a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack sends traffic to a website from multiple sources, overwhelming its network connectivity.
Basic defenses: Using a well-established content delivery network (CDN) like Cloudflare can help mitigate or prevent such attacks.
6: Phishing
Attackers use phishing techniques to impersonate a legitimate company, usually via email, to obtain personal information directly from the target. The attacker then uses the information to hack or defraud the site.
Basic defenses: Spam filters can detect and prevent most malicious emails from reaching users’ inboxes.
7: Hotlinking
This is a technique where a website links directly to a website’s resources targeted for SEO ranking or featured media, such as video or image files, without using their own server resources or bandwidth.
For example, if Website B hotlinks to Website A’s featured image, and Website B receives a lot of traffic to the page with the image, Website A’s server resources are exhausted, potentially affecting Website A’s performance.
Basic defense: Use a plugin or content delivery network (CDN) like Cloudflare to help protect your media files.
Conclusion
Now that you understand the different types of security threats to be aware of, consider the following key reasons why your WordPress site may be vulnerable to a security breach:
- Your WordPress site is outdated and needs an update to the latest version
- Your site has unused or outdated themes or plugins installed, which cause compatibility issues and open security holes.
- Your WordPress site’s admin login page is still set to the default /wp-admin, making it vulnerable to brute-force attacks.
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