WordPress is one of the most popular site-building and content management systems in the world. But because it’s so popular, it’s also a prime target for cyber attacks. Despite its reputation as a secure and reliable content management system, WordPress is not immune to cyber attacks. In fact, WordPress sites are often targeted by hackers due to the large number of users and the popularity of the platform. In this article, we’ll go over some of the most common types of attacks so that you can be prepared in case your site is ever targeted.
Brute-force attack
One of the most common types of cyber attacks on WordPress is the brute-force attack. This is where someone tries to guess your password by using a program that automatically generates different combinations of letters and numbers.
If you have a strong password, then it’s unlikely that someone will be able to guess it. However, if you have a weak password, then it’s quite possible that someone will be able to guess it. That’s why it’s important to have a strong password.
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There are a few things you can do to protect yourself from brute-force attacks. First, you can install different plugins which will block users after a certain number of failed login attempts and/or use a two factor authentication. Second, you can use a service like which will block malicious IP addresses. Third, you can block the malicious IPs from Apache2 server.
If you are not going to login for a week or so, then you can move the wp-login.php file to somewhere else on the server!
DDoS Attack
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a type of cyber attack that overloads a website or server with requests, making it inaccessible to legitimate users. DDoS attacks are often launched by botnets, which are networks of infected computers controlled by hackers.
WordPress websites are particularly vulnerable to DDoS attacks because of the way they are structured. WordPress sites are made up of many different files that are all stored on the same server. This means that if one file is overloaded with requests, it can affect the whole site.
Cross-Site Scripting
One of the most common types of cyber attacks on WordPress is known as cross-site scripting (XSS). This type of attack occurs when a malicious user injects code into a website that is then executed by unsuspecting visitors. This can result in the theft of sensitive information, or the redirecting of users to malicious websites.
XSS attacks are often used to target WordPress sites because they are so popular and widely used. Because WordPress is used by millions of people, a successful XSS attack can have a significant impact. Cross-site scripting attack is carried out using JavaScript. Hence use reliable plugins and themes. Avoid using free CDNs.
There are a few things that you can do to protect your WordPress site from XSS attacks. Installing a Web Application Firewall can effective protect the site.
Remember that HSTS configuration can not prevent XSS attack. It is Content Security Policy (CSP) which can reduce the risk.
SQL Injections
SQL injections are one of the most common types of cyber attacks on WordPress. They occur when an attacker inserts malicious code into a WordPress database, which can then be used to take control of the site or access sensitive information. SQL injections can be prevented by using a secure WordPress plugin or by manually editing the database.
To Conclude
Unfortunately, the above list is not the end. File inclusion exploits are often caused by vulnerabilities in WordPress themes or plugins. For example, a theme might allow an attacker to include a malicious file if the attacker knows the name of the file. Apart from that, there are vulnerabilities due to WordPress core files.
If you keep your server and WordPress updated, that itself reduces the risk. Taking regular backups is next important step to recover from an attack. There are attacks, such DDoS, which have a limited solution.
