WordPress remains one of the leading CMS (Content Management Systems) on the Internet today. Current reports put its market share figures at about 58%, with a solidly positive prospect as well. Its relative ease of use and accessibility is its main attraction for users seeking a new website.
Unfortunately, WordPress attracts numerous attacks as a result of its popularity. According to a web security report, as many as three out of every four hacked websites in 2016 were WordPress-based.
While it might seem that the system is insecure, the hack attacks only took advantage of the low technical knowledge amongst users and their weak approach to web security. As such, you could drastically reduce the chances of having your WP website hacked by paying close attention to its maintenance, security, and updates.
Testing a WordPress website’s security is a straightforward process, and this article presents a step-by-step guide to get you started after designing your ideal website.
Scan Your WP Website for Threats and Vulnerabilities
Scanning is one of the first things to do as you test your website’s security. It allows you to access your site’s vulnerabilities and the kinds of attacks it’s likely to suffer. Thankfully, there’s web security software that could assist with running a comprehensive check.
Generally, you’d first want to check for malware and see if the website appears on a blacklist. Also, your website firewall has to be up to date, with WordPress on its latest version. As you go further into the process, you could use the scanner software to generate a list of all scripts and links.
Bear in mind that web security software requires FTP and admin panel access to detect more sophisticated malware.
Get a WordPress Security Plugin
Once you’ve completed an assessment on your website, it’s vital to get a system that can help you automatically manage your backend security processes. Typically, a WP security plugin can monitor your website for threats and give you reports in real-time. Furthermore, a WordPress security plugin could act as your site’s firewall and file repair system.
While there are several WP security plugins from which you can choose, the recommendation is to pick a premium option like Shift Left Security. You’d get added features like IP protection and remote server scanning, which is handy for future-proofing your website’s security profile.
Run a WordPress Username Enumeration Attack
User enumeration is a common WordPress application attack where the hacker requests the usernames on the WP site. It usually precedes a brute force or DDoS attack. Test-running a username enumeration attack on your site could help you to prevent it in the future.
Username Enumeration by Author ID
This user enumeration technique involves sending a landing page request that contains an author ID number and parameter. The user then gets the username response with increments to the ID. You’d get redirected to each author’s page, which should appear in the “location” section on the HTTP response.
Username Enumeration by JSON API
You can get the list of usernames on your WP website through the built-in JSON API. The path to follow would look like, “https://
User Enumeration by Login Error Messages
You can directly enumerate usernames using WP Login error messages on your website. This method exploits the fact that WordPress sends different error messages when trying to log in with certain credentials. It makes it easy to tell when a username is correct, but the password isn’t.
Once you’ve run several username enumeration attacks on your site, it’s best to proceed to block any chances of its occurrence externally. First, you must restrict access to your site’s JSON API and ID lookup.
Also, you can rewrite all error messages during failed WP login attempts so that attackers can’t retrieve correct usernames from there. You can go further by rewriting the entire .htaccess tags on your website to give more long-term protection.
Scrub Out Key Markers From Your Website
WP website attackers often look for vulnerabilities in the site they could use to gain access. However, they’d rely on bots and automated processes to look through for them as it’s more convenient. These applications use certain parameters on the website to determine how vulnerable it is and how they could infiltrate it.
You can’t entirely prevent these bots from scanning your website, but you can make the process harder for them by scrubbing out a few details.
For instance, identifiers like your WP version are present in the website’s core, themes, and plugins. You can access them using admin tools or reading the readme.txt files attached to plugins. If you can hide these identifiers, it makes it harder for hack bots to single out your website, as they’d instead go for sites without such measures.
Clean Up Any Exposed Backups
Generally, it’s difficult for a hacker to get to you through your WP file system. However, they could wait around for some exposed backup files you might have forgotten. If you back up your WP configurations regularly, it’s best to rename them afterward to make them not easily accessible.
An exposed backup file would still hold its default name, and if it’s a configuration backup, attackers can download and read the entire content. Such a breach immediately leaves your website vulnerable to hacks.
Wrapping Up
WordPress is a massive target for website hackers, but that’s only because it’s popular. The service offers as many security functions for users to utilize. Sadly, not a lot of website owners know how to navigate through these features.
Therefore, you must test your WordPress website’s security to ensure it’s up-to-date. Security testing allows you to take the proper steps against attacks and keep the website compliant with modern standards.
Also, beefing up your site’s security makes you a much harder target for hackers, and they’d likely let you go for more vulnerable sites.
The steps mentioned above are an excellent way to begin the testing process. They help you to get familiarized with common hacker techniques, thereby making it easier to identify and repel them in the future.
