Website Hacking Methods That Make WordPress Vulnerable

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About 500+ new WordPress sites are created daily. Impressive, isn't it? The bad news is that all this popularity comes at a price! In this article, I will show you... the most common WordPress website hacking methods and how to protect your site from vulnerabilities.

Statistics tell us that WordPress is also the most hacked content management system of all. Of the 8,000 infected websites analyzed in the study, 75% were built with WordPress. Of course, this is not due to the weak core of WordPress… It's just that hackers are getting smarter!

What does this mean for your own WordPress website and should you care about it at all?

The content of the article:

• Your site is in danger!
• 6 Most Common Website Hacking Methods
  • 1. Plugin vulnerabilities
  • 2. Brute force attacks and weak passwords
  • 3. WordPress core vulnerabilities
  • 4. Unsafe Topics
  • 5. Hosting Vulnerabilities
  • 6. Malware and DDoS attacks
• Protect your WordPress site from vulnerabilities

Your site is in danger!

Here's a real test from someone who makes a living from ethical hacking - no matter the scale, size, or age of your WordPress site, your site is in danger! Hackers don't necessarily only target major websites, they also target smaller and relatively insecure sites that share common vulnerabilities. Such sites are easy to use. In fact, many of these cyberattacks are carried out using bots programmed to automatically look for specific vulnerabilities on websites. Sometimes they don't differentiate between your site and the popular one. Smaller sites are more prone to hacking because they usually have lower security measures.

So, the next time you think your site is too small for a hacker, think again. There is a high chance that a hacker could use your website to send spam, SEO spam, or a malicious redirect. Once a hacker manages to find a loophole on your site, he can access a lot of opportunities to realize his "spam" intentions.

6 Most Common Website Hacking Methods

Hackers can carry out many different types of hack attacks, such as:

1. DDoS attacks;
2. Cross-site scripting (XSS) attack;
3. Link injection attacks;
4. SQL injection attacks;
5. Session hijacking;
6. Attacks using clickjacking;
7. Japanese WordPress hack, etc.

Luckily, all common threats that can affect your WordPress site can be effectively prevented. But first, we need to arm you with the right knowledge about these common types of hacks so that you can take the right steps to deal with this problem.

Here are the most common website hacking methods you should be aware of and how to prevent them:

1. Plugin vulnerabilities

If you have used WordPress extensively, plugins would play a prominent role in your website development process. After all, WordPress is for developers and non-developers alike. For those who want a fast web presence, the plugin is a solid solution to fill in the gaps and integrate all sorts of features into your website.

Unfortunately, plugins are considered the most vulnerable to hacking attempts in the WordPress ecosystem. The developers of these plugins cannot be blamed. Hackers manage to find vulnerabilities in the plugin code and use them to access confidential information.

What can you do?

• Update your plugins: A sure way to minimize exposure to this vulnerability is to keep your plugin up to date. This allows you to fix any known vulnerabilities in the previous version.
• Use the Plugin Security Scanner: You can use the automatic scanner to detect security issues in your plugins and set up real-time alerts that will be triggered when a security issue is detected.
• Avoid Abandoned Plugins: The official WordPress plugin repository contains a list of trusted plugins. Check for and avoid plugins that haven't received updates in over 12 months.

2. Brute force attacks and weak passwords

Lack of login security is another entry point for hackers targeting WordPress sites. Hackers tend to use readily available software tools to create a password and break into your system.

Malicious hackers use software tools like Wireshark (sniffer) or Fiddler (proxy) to intercept your WordPress login details and steal your personal information and other sensitive information.

Also, brute force attacks can create problems for users who have a weak credential management system. With such attacks, a hacker can generate thousands of password guessing attempts to gain access. So, you know what to do if your password is 12345678 or admin123, right?

What can you do?

• Use more secure usernames and passwords. Change them regularly.
• Select an HTTPS connection to prevent hackers from running the proxy tool through website traffic data.
• You can also use two-factor authentication by sending access codes via email or SMS as an additional authentication step.

3. WordPress core vulnerabilities

Nothing is perfect in this world. It often takes time to discover vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem, and this delay can put thousands of WordPress users at serious risk of data breaches. Luckily, the WordPress team releases patches and security updates regularly. In 2022, CMS launched WordPress 6.1.1 with several security updates and exciting features.

What can you do?

• Get in the habit of updating to the latest version of WordPress whenever possible.
• You can easily apply the latest WordPress updates from the "Updates" on the menu "Control Panel".

4. Unsafe Topics

Sometimes you might be tempted to install a free theme from your favorite search engines. But how do you make sure a theme is safe, especially if it's free? Many of these free themes are either not actively maintained or simply not well built. This makes such free themes vulnerable to hacking, just like an outdated plugin. However, this does not mean that all free themes are strictly prohibited. There are many good and reliable free themes from developers who update them regularly and actively support them.

What can you do?

• Avoid using free themes without carefully checking their source.
• Always choose high quality themes from well-known developers and theme stores.
• Scan your WordPress theme regularly for malicious codes.

5. Hosting Vulnerabilities

Another popular entry point for hackers is your own hosting system. The SQL server hosting your WordPress site is a potential target, and using poor quality or shared hosting services can make it vulnerable. Shared hosting can be a problem when one site on a web server is hacked. In such cases, an attacker can gain unauthorized access to other websites on the same server.

What can you do?

• When choosing shared hosting, choose a quality hosting provider that prioritizes security features.
• Another option is to host your website on a separate server using VPS (Virtual Private Server).
  • The only drawback is that it is more expensive compared to shared hosting.

6. Malware and DDoS attacks

Website malware is everywhere, and a WordPress site is no exception. DDoS attacks or distributed denial of service attacks and malware are one of the most common threats to your website.

While malware can enter your site through a back door or infect your files with a virus, DDoS attacks aim to inundate your site with a lot of fake traffic using bots. In the case of a shared hosting platform, your site will experience an unprecedented spike in traffic and may even crash. This is because shared hosting allows you to use limited system resources for each of the websites hosted on it. Both malware and DDoS are dangerous website hacking methods, and hackers can use them together or separately to compromise your website and cause problems.

What can you do?

• Malware scanning system: There are many malware infections on the internet, and your WordPress site could be vulnerable to any of them. You can protect your website from them by choosing an automatic malware scanning system that scans your website's files for problems. If the scanner detects that your site has been hacked, you can take steps to fix the hacked WordPress site. You can use a plugin to clean up your site, or contact a malware removal service and let the professionals deal with the hack for you.
• DDoS Protection: Install an intelligent firewall and use the intelligent system to detect and block bot threats in real time. You need to monitor web traffic requests in real time. And protect your system not only from any malicious code/malware, but also from traffic.

Protect your WordPress site from vulnerabilities

Finding out that your WordPress site has been hacked is a nightmare. Once a site is compromised, hackers use it to create a virus. For example, such as favicon.ico malware, and performing malicious actions. When Google finds out about your hacked site, it blacklists your site and your hosting provider suspends your site.

While any WordPress site can be hacked, your site can be protected. Apply best WordPress security practices and be aware of potential security risks. Alternatively, you can also migrate your website from HTTP to HTTPS and take steps to secure the login page.

Apart from the stated security measures, you should also have a solid WordPress backup plan. Setting up scheduled backups and recording all changes made to your sensitive data is of paramount importance. Make sure you have the ability to securely send backups out of the office to secure offsite storage. Also, make sure your backup strategy has a restore feature in case you need to restore a backup.

A good way to secure your site is to install a security plugin. Security plugins help implement website security measures. It will also crawl your site daily.

It's impossible to keep hackers from breaking in, but keeping your WordPress site secure is definitely in your hands!

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