WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS), with over 40% of all websites using it. Given these statistics, it should come as no surprise that WordPress is an attractive target for malicious individuals hoping to capitalize on vulnerabilities to hack your site. It is generally secure to use WordPress [if you use it simply and update your site regularly], although the vast majority of website owners engage in unsafe browsing practices, such as using outdated plugins and themes, weak passwords and bad hosting, resulting in thousands of WordPress sites being hacked every day.
In this guide you will learn how hackers target WordPress sites, how they attack them, and most importantly you will learn how to protect the security of your website and how to get a potential hacker of your site.
Why Hackers Target WordPress
Before we get into hacking techniques, we should first identify the motivations behind hackers. Hackers typically do not break into individual site owners’ websites, but they look for weak targets across many WordPress websites. The most common motivations include:
- Monetary Gain – Using hacked WordPress sites to engage in phishing and scam activity, or to inject spam links into the hacked WordPress sites.
- Resources – Catching onto server resources to run cryptominers or send spam emails.
- Data Theft – Stealing customer information, account credentials, or payment information.
- Reputational Damage – Do competitors or malicious actors just want to bring a site down?
As long as WordPress powers millions of businesses, it is a treasure trove of opportunity for cybercriminals and people that determine weak security measures to exploit.
Common Ways Hackers Target WordPress Sites
Hackers employ a variety of techniques to infiltrate WordPress websites. Below are the most common methods you should be aware of.
1. Brute Force Attacks
A brute force attack is when hackers try thousands of username and password combinations until they finally get the right one. Brute force attacks are successful because people use weak passwords like “admin123” or “password.”
You can take a few preventative measures to avoid being a victim of a brute force attack:
- Always have strong passwords using a combination of symbols, numbers, and uppercase letters.
- Use a plugin to limit login attempts.
- Use two-factor authentication (2FA).
2. Exploiting Outdated Plugins and Themes
Plugins and themes can have useful functionality, but out-of-date plugins and themes can contain vulnerabilities. Oftentimes hackers will scour the web for existing security holes in old versions of software and attempt to use them to infiltrate your website.
Prevention Strategies:
- Make sure to regularly update your plugins and themes.
- Uninstall any unused or abandoned plugins.
- Only install plugins from trusted, legitimate sources.
3. SQL Injection Attacks
An SQL injection lets attackers compromise a site’s database via unguarded input fields (e.g. user registration). SQL injections can allow an attacker to steal data, or takeover the site altogether.
There are a few ways to prevent these attacks, including:
- Use a security plugin, that will block malicious requests.
- Sanitize input from users via plugins/post processing code.
- Scan your database frequently.
4. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cybercriminals target clients or customers by injecting an unsuspecting victim’s website with malicious scripts, permitting cybercriminals to redirect your visitors to malicious URLs or steal the login credentials.
You can mitigate the chances of being attacked, here are some ideas:
- A web application firewall (WAF) as a shield.
- Regularly update WordPress core, themes, and plugins.
- Use input validation schemes of both POST (adding) and GET (updating) actions to filter out malicious script.
5. Malware Injections
Malware is one the most common threats, hackers will often place code into files to cause malicious activity that the file often looks like a legitimate functionality. The site owner might even not know until Google flags the site.
Prevention tips:
- Schedule malware scans regularly.
- Use security plugins, Wordfence or Sucuri are good.
- Monitor the files on the site for unauthorized changes.
6. Backdoors
Backdoors provide hackers a way to gain access to your site without your knowledge even after they are removed. Backdoors are often hidden deep in directories or disguised as core files.
Tips to Prevent:
- Do whole file integrity checks.
- Delete any files on the server that are unnecessary.
- Make sure to reset all passwords after you have been attacked.
7. DDoS Attacks
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks will overwhelm your server with too much traffic, which can lead to downtime and poor user experience.
Some tips on how to help prevent:
- Utilize a Content Delivery Network (CDN) such as Cloudflare.
- Implement firewalls at the server level.
- Keep an eye on your site’s traffic and watch for unexpected spikes.
8. Weak Hosting Security
In some cases, it’s not WordPress, but the host company causing the issue. Low-cost hosting usually comes with poor firewalls, or limited server monitoring or monitoring systems.
Prevention Tips:
- Select a host that understands security.
- Check that SSL certificates, backups and monitoring are included.
- If you are concerned about security, search for managed WordPress hosting.
Signs of a Hacked WordPress Site
If you believe your site has been hacked, take notes of the following indicators:
- Unfamiliar files or suspicious admin accounts.
- Google blacklisting or warnings about malware.
- Sudden drop in web performance or traffic.
- Redirecting users to spammy websites.
- Evidence of suspicious code injections to your sites files.
Spotting the trouble early can go far in keeping it from getting much worse.
Steps to Secure Hacked WordPress Sites
If your website has already been hacked, don’t panic. You can recover hacked WordPress sites through a step-by-step process.
- Temporarily Take Your Site Offline – This will prevent any damage to your site while addressing the issues.
- Reset All Passwords – This includes admin, FTP, and database passwords.
- Run a Malware Scan – Use a plugin or third-party services to see if there are any bad code files.
- Remove Any Suspicious Files – For example, delete scripts you do not recognize or corrupted files.
- Update Everything – Make sure WordPress, your themes, and plugins are all up-to-date.
- Restore From Backup – If you have a good version of the site to revert back to, do so.
- Check User Accounts – Remove any unauthorized users that may have gained admin access.
- Harden Security – Take measures to ensure the attack does not happen again.
Best Practices to Prevent Future Attacks
Securing hacked WordPress websites is just the first step. In order to protect your reputation long term you also need to consider long-term and ongoing security measures. Here are more best practices:
- Keep Everything Updated – WordPress has constant updates working to fix vulnerabilities.
- Use Strong Authentication – Set your users on complex passwords and use two-factor authentication.
- Security Plugins – Use a security plugin like Wordfence, iThemes Security, or Sucuri to monitor and block attacks.
- Back up regularly – Using automated solutions makes it easy to back up your site. This means you can restore your site quickly if it has been attacked or compromised.
- Disable File Editing – This is to stop attackers injecting malicious code using your dashboard.
- Secure Hosting – Pay for good hosting and your hosting provider will handle the security measures.
- Use HTTPS – SSL certificates offer an extra layer of protection, including encrypting sensitive data as it travels to and from the server.
- Restrict Admin Access – Be mindful of what user roles you are creating. Don’t assign administrator privileges if they don’t need them.
Why Site Security is a Continuous Process
Cybersecurity is not a “one and done” setup. Hackers are continually coming up with new ways, which indicates that we must constantly continue to evolve our defenses. We must constantly keep our online presence safe with regular, continual audits, security scans, and proactive monitoring.
Taking the time to get the right security posture does pay off in the end , and protects your website, customer trust , your revenue, and your future growth.
Final Thoughts
As hackers target WordPress sites, you happen to be one of the victims. But if you learn how they hack your website and take steps to improve your website’s security, at least your website is safe from malware and web hackers. Whether you are in the process of dealing with hacked WordPress sites, or you would like to avoid being another victim, the greatest way to ensure you do not get hacked is to be proactive.
By keeping your software updated, password protected, finding secure hosting and using security tools, you can surely lessen the chance of you being the next victim.
Your WordPress site is your site – it is the representation of your business and needs to be treated as you would expect to treat a valuable asset.