Cyber attacks are becoming more sophisticated to include industrialization of hacking. Further, those IT hackers are more motivated than ever before. This year we will be experiencing advanced malware attacks, spam, phishing and other cyber attack techniques, efficient and dangerous.
Unfortunately, since the new year began, we are already hearing from clients that have experienced brute force attacks to their WordPress sites. Websites that are poorly secured are the most vulnerable and a top reason the site has been hacked. Strong passwords are needed to keep bad actors out. We have found that some clients have changed their passwords we provided to other passwords which they found easier to use and to remember. This is not a good choice and these are the websites that were hacked. It has been reported that a network of more than 90,000 IP addresses are responsible for ongoing attacks.
Server protection techniques:
Server online security teams are working tirelessly to prevent these attacks. Some servers even close the access to certain plugins to protect users. However, this is only a temporary fix. These are bad actors that come up with new and innovative ways daily to choose victims and to mount attacks. They simply automate the method of guessing what the password might be, staying only so long on each site and moving on to other victims. This is being done internationally.
Most of us sooner or later are a victim. The most common passwords are the first to be attempted. An example of a password which might be vulnerable is a password such as 123456, 12345, 1234, password, and a words “admin or pass.” It is also a good idea to never use your, address or other which may be guessed easily. Any of this info can be found on social sites and some clients put this info on their contact pages. Choose difficult passwords and add characters to the password to make it even stronger.
Staying updated and relevant:
If your website is developed using a WordPress platform, be sure you are up to date on the latest version of WordPress. Keep any an all plugins updated and when creating or changing passwords, stay within the guidelines suggested to keep hackers at bay. Our reports over this year have pointed to the fact that hackers today are using new methods to hide malicious hacking attempts. They are now writing target-specific malware to hit applications, specific departments and security processes. They are testing this technique by recreating an environment to test the malware against security methods being used on websites. Most of the time their goal is to gather data, or simply to destroy data. Once this is done, they can easily return to the site later for future attacks.
What to do about these attacks:
Information security online is the foundation that enables business to succeed and grow. We should all look at using a security model which is focused on the ability to look for and to stop attacks before they occur. The security solution should be able to manage a complex web of connections with users, devices, networks and other services.
We are predicting that security control solutions will be needed more and more as sophisticated hackers continue to create havoc online this year. We wish all of you a safe and secure 2017, free of online hacking attempts. Be smart and stay ahead of the game. Site Pro News is an online news media which offers the latest news to keep us competitive and to report on hacking invasions which affect our daily lives.
Contact our office to discuss ways to protect your website from hacking attempts. Thanks for stopping by.
Hurry back for more next time:
Jean Holland-Rose
Chief Creative Officer and SEO Professional
