Recent WordPress Vulnerabilities

Just in time for Halloween, WordPress recently issued a core software update that every site owner should be aware of. The recently released version 5.2.4 contains not one but six security patches – all discovered by generous members of the global WordPress community.

If you already have a WordPress Security + Backup Plan with us, there’s nothing you need to do and your site has already been updated ahead of schedule. But if you’ve been waiting to button down your site, now is a good time to do so. because having old software on your site  is like leaving a welcome mat on the back door to your online investment. 

Most sites are hacked via automatic scripts that scour the internet looking for known software vulnerabilities. Whether it’s a specific out of date version of WordPress the hackers want to exploit, or a significantly old plugin, getting hacked is anything but personal. It’s just a matter of when a script hits your site and finds the conditions are right to jump in and say BOO! 

And here’s a spooky stat I just heard last week: 30% of all internet traffic is hack-driven. Even I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it. 

The Story That Got This Ball Rolling

About 6 years ago this site was hacked. As a developer, I was shocked to discover the routine backups conducted by my hosting company only extended a week. Since the infection had taken place before I discovered it, I was up a creek. For 20 years I’d skated through unscathed by a single sneeze due to malware, but in one fell swoop, I woke up to the fact that the internet wasn’t as safe as I wanted it to be.

At the time I made the best of the situation and decided to completely redesign my site. I transformed it into a win, embarking on a complete rebrand. But what about all the clients I’d designed sites for over the years? What would happen to them if their site went down? Without the ability to rebuild from scratch, how much would it cost them to restore their sites–or worse, have to completely rebuild them? 

Once my site was relaunched I pretty much dropped everything and dug into researching WordPress security, firewalls and premium plugins and I’m proud to say not a single client site has gone down or encountered data loss to a hack since. 

Staying on top of online security in today’s world, whether you own a WordPress site or are just logging into your email account, is important for all of us. And all to often the weakest link in the chain isn’t the hackers, it ourselves! 

Forgetting to do things like using strong passwords, thinking twice before clicking on suspicious email links, and forgetting about routine site maintenance can put any of us at risk.

The goods news is that Clearly Presentable offers every established design customer a discount for security services!  Think of it like WordPress Advil – we take on the headache of securing and troubleshooting your website so you don’t have to. 🙂

To find out more about WordPress security, please read the articles below and better yet – just click here.