WordPress Websites Get Hacked: How to Stay Safe

Although all websites on the internet are subject to cyber threats, WordPress sites are the most commonly hacked. WordPress is the most popular website builder, accounting for at least 31% of all websites, which translates to hundreds of millions.

WordPress’s popularity offers hackers a motivation to target its websites. Imagine if hackers discovered a flaw in a major WordPress plugin and exploited it to harm millions of websites. This post will explain why WordPress websites are hacked and how you can keep them safe.

Using Poor Passwords Makes Your Websites Get Hacked.

Passwords are one technique to secure your WordPress website. However, most users choose weak passwords that hackers may readily guess. During the procedure, hackers get access to your website’s administrative rights.

Using password managers is one approach to keep hackers from getting unauthorized access to your WordPress website. A password manager securely stores all of your passwords and passphrases, so you won’t have to remember them.

When you use a password manager, you no longer need to establish a short, repeating password that is easy to remember. Instead, you’ll construct long passwords with at least 14 distinct characters, including digits, symbols, and lowercase and uppercase letters.

Not Terminating Attacks

A dictionary attack is a hacking technique used to compromise WordPress websites. This basic technique attempts to guess the password to your website. In this strategy, a hacker attempts to gain access to your website via an automated process of entering passwords that are readily available online.

If you haven’t updated your WordPress login credentials, a dictionary attack could allow a hacker to access your website. This is why you should change your login credentials and use firewalls that include built-in security against brute force tactics such as dictionary attacks.

Without Upgrading WordPress

Not upgrading your WordPress website makes it exposed to hackers. If you’re concerned that updating WordPress will break your site, make a WordPress backup before performing the upgrade. If you are unsuccessful, you may always revert to the previous version.

New versions of WordPress address issues and data leaks that may have existed in previous releases. As a result, your website will be better able to defend against cyber-attacks.

Using ‘Admin’ as your WordPress Username

If you continue to use the ‘Admin’ as your WordPress username, you are exposing your website to cyberhackers. Initially, WordPress supplied users with a pre-configured username known as ‘Admin’. So millions of users never updated their usernames. They merely create passwords.

By leaving your login as ‘Admin’, you’ve made the cybercriminals’ job simpler because they’re already halfway through the hacking procedure. They merely need to crack the password to gain access to your WordPress site.

Not Updating Plugins and Themes

WordPress Themes and Plugins, like the core WordPress software, must be updated regularly to ensure the security of your website. An outdated theme or plugin is the most prevalent source of weaknesses and holes that hackers use to get access to your website.

To protect their users from hackers, theme and plugin creators typically uncover and fix these issues and weaknesses. So, if you don’t update your theme or plugins regularly, your website may become subject to malware attacks.

Using Insecure Web Hosting

All websites, including WordPress ones, are hosted on web servers. If hosting providers fail to secure their web servers, all of the sites they host become subject to cyberattacks.

To avoid this problem, choose a trusted web hosting service for your WordPress blog. In this manner, the web servers that host your WordPress site will be protected from frequent hacker attempts.

You Don’t Have a Two-factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an authentication system that requires users to give two verification factors before they may access an account. To use your online wallet, you may need to enter a one-time password (OTP) in addition to your regular password.

The second verification factor serves as an additional degree of protection for your account from illegal users. In the above example, the one-time password serves as the second verification factor. So, even if a hacker knows your standard online wallet password, they will be unable to access your account unless they receive the OTP texted to your smartphone in real time.

It takes a few minutes to set up the WordPress two-factor authentication plugin. You’ll significantly limit the possibilities of cybercriminals acquiring access to your WordPress site, even if they have stolen your credentials.

Not Keeping a WordPress Activity Log

Keeping a WordPress Activity Log allows you to track everything on your website. You’ll be notified of any unsuccessful attempts to log in to your site, as well as modifications to its files. During the procedure, you’ll be ready to improve your cybersecurity and identify risks.

Using FTP to Upload Files

Many WordPress website owners still use FTP to add files to their sites. FTP gained popularity because it allows webmasters to quickly upload material.

However, over time, it has been discovered that FTP is not the most secure approach to transferring files to your website. FTP allows hackers to quickly get control of your website since it maintains your login details in plain text.

If you do not want hackers to steal your data, you should cease using FTP right now. Instead, you can use SFTP or SSH to upload files to your WordPress site.

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The Final Line

In summary, protecting your WordPress website from potential hacking is important for maintaining its honesty and security. By addressing the top nine reasons why WordPress websites get hacked and applying the recommended security measures, you may greatly reduce the chance of unauthorized access, data breaches, and other cyber attacks. Remember to stay watchful, update your WordPress core, themes, and plugins, use strong passwords, install security plugins, and back up your website regularly. By putting security first, you can enjoy the benefits of a secure and dependable WordPress website for yourself and your users.