• Home
• /
• Security
• /
• 3 Most Common WordPress Attack Causes and How to Counteract them

3 Most Common WordPress Attack Causes and How to Counteract them

WordPress has the benefit of being easy to handle, and has some great functionalities when considering the number of high quality cheap and free plugins out there. But its strengths can also be weaknesses, and WordPress sites aren’t always the most robust when it comes to cybersecurity. That’s why each year, WordPress site owners have to deal with the occasional attack. While in some cases the effects are minor, in others, the results can be disastrous. Here are some of the most common causes for WordPress attacks and what you can do about them.

Plugin Vulnerabilities

There are literally tens of thousands of different plugins out there, all made by different developers. So, it’s only right that some of these might be faulty when it comes to security. The first thing you should do is check your current collection of plugins, and only keep those you actually need. Then remove all the rest. Afterwards, make sure that all the plugins you have are up to date. Updates usually deliver patches for previous vulnerabilities, so it’s important that you update your plugins as soon as they’re released.

In the event that you were already attacked through a plugin and suffered some major loss or some of your files were corrupted, we strongly advise that you work with a data recovery service that will allow you to retrieve some or all of these files for you. Services like Secure Data Recovery are experts in raid/server recovery and will be able to restore corrupted files and get your website up and running in no time.

Brute Force

Brute force attacks are when attackers use sophisticated software to come up with a wide number of password alternatives in order to get access to your site’s backend. This is often an issue for people who use easy to crack passwords like “admin” or “12345”.

These types of programs will try to look for the most common password combinations, so you should make sure that your passwords always have at least one symbol, one upper case letter, a number, and at least 8 characters. Also consider using a rate-limiting tool that will allow you to limit the number of login attempts that a particular IP can make. Two-factor authentication should also be used if you want to limit access even further.

Theme and Core Vulnerabilities

Just like plugins, there are thousands and thousands of different themes out there, and you can’t just blindly trust them. So please avoid free themes at all costs and only go with trusted developers. As far as WordPress core issues go, the best thing to do is always keep it up to date. WordPress as a framework is usually not the culprit in attacks, unless it’s outdated. Making sure that you have the most current version ensures that possible vulnerabilities that were found with previous versions are fixed.

WordPress can be a very practical tool for inexperienced developers who want a fully functional site without a full knowledge of website development. However, you have to take the steps necessary to mitigate vulnerabilities and not knowingly leave a door open to attacks.

James Daniels

James Daniels is a freelance writer, business enthusiast, a bit of a tech buff, and an overall geek. He is also an avid reader, who can while away hours reading and knowing about the latest gadgets and tech, whilst offering views and opinions on these topics.