Are you facing constant brute-force attacks on your WordPress website? This isn’t looking good. You need to enhance the protection of your website to prevent data loss.
Stats suggested that nearly 80% of data breaches are due to brute force attacks making it a serious threat to your business. Many businesses still don’t realize the importance of protecting their valuable data.
Another report revealed that only 5% of the company folders are protected.
If you want to prevent brute force attacks, use the methods discussed in this blog and secure your sensitive data as soon as possible.
But before jumping into the methods for preventing brute force attacks, first, understand what this attack really is and how it affects your website.
What Is a Brute Force Attack?
A brute force attack is a cyberattack in which the hacker tries to get into your WordPress login or Admin Panel by using passwords repeatedly until he gets the right password and username.
This is one of the most common types of cyberattack that affects many websites today.
Usually, hackers use automated bots or some kind of brute force password generator that attempts to get into your website by guessing the passwords and usernames repeatedly. They continue to do so until they are succeeded or reach the limit.
Please note this: after every 39 seconds, a cyberattack is projected to occur, according to Varonis data.
What Are the Motives of Brute Force Attacks?
There are multiple motives behind a brute force attack, and these vary from hacker to hacker. Some do it just for fun; others do it for money or political reasons. Some of the other motives of this attack are:
- Steal sensitive and personal data for personal reasons.
- Seek revenge against the business by taking over its website and disrupting its operations.
- Track user browsing data and sell it to third parties involved.
- Infect your website with potential malware and take over your website completely.
- Insert ads into your website and take advantage of them.
- Break into pages that are not meant to be accessible by the general public.
- Redirect traffic to other paid advertising sites and profit from them.
How Do Brute Force Attacks Work?
In this type of cyber attack, the hacker uses systemic bots to predict the passwords and usernames in combination using the classic trial-and-error method.
They usually have a whole list of common usernames and password combinations that are designated to their automated bots for attacking WordPress websites.
Using this, the hacker manually guessed the login credentials until they hit the jackpot with multiple attempts. Mostly, they get the details from the dark web or other security lapses. As the trial-and-error method is super time-consuming and they are in a hurry, they use the help of other brute force tools to invade your website.
Unfortunately, these attackers misuse several password recovery tools and use them for WordPress brute attacks. Some of the top brute force attack tools include:
How to Stop Brute Force Attacks on WordPress Websites?
After learning how this kind of cyber attack is harmful to your website, let’s get into the methods to prevent brute-force attacks on your website.
1. Use a Different Username
First comes first; never use “Admin” as your username.
It was a common practice to use admin as a username before, but you shouldn’t do it anymore.
WordPress used “Admin” as a default username earlier, but now you can choose any username.
You can check your present username from the WordPress dashboard. Scroll down to find “Users” and navigate to “Profile”, where you can find your username. If it is a unique username and not the “Admin”, you are good to go.
2. Choose a Strong Password
The best way to stop a brute force attack is to use a unique and strong password. For that, you should harden your password and keep it as unpredictable as possible.
So, go and secure your password. To do so, repeat the steps discussed to change the username. Go to “Profile” and scroll down to find the “Account Management” section. Here, click on the “Set New Password” button and set a strong password.
If you want to know how to set a strong and unique password, follow these steps:
- It should be 10-15 characters long.
- It should have numbers and special characters in it.
- Also, have both long and short-case alphabets.
- It should be different from passwords used for other websites.
3. Use a 2-factor Authentication Method
To further enhance the security of your website, use 2-step authentication verification.
This involves two login details for entering the website. Obviously, you will be asked for a password as the first step, and then you need to verify your identity from another device, usually a smartphone with a code.
This will help you give an extra security layer to prevent brute-force attacks. You can use a WordPress plugin for the authentication process or some app such as Microsoft Authenticator.
4. Block Suspicious IP Addresses
One more method to prevent brute-force attacks on your website is to block all unwanted traffic from suspicious IP addresses. Firstly, identify the suspicious IP addresses either manually from the comment section or through the site’s server logs. Identify IP addresses that are sending repeated requests and block them.
Alternatively, you can also use an IP blocker in cPanel to remove IP addresses that you think are malicious.
5. Use Limit Login Attempts
One more effective way to prevent brute force attacks on websites is to limit login attempts. This means allowing your users to make limited login attempts in a given period.
The main reason why brute force attacks on WordPress are so effective is they allow unlimited login attempts by default. So, limiting the number of attempts to enter your WordPress website can significantly increase the protection of your website against attacks.
To implement a login attempts limit, you need to install WordPress plugins such as Limit Login Attempt Reloaded or Wordfence Limit Login Attempts.
6. Install WordPress Security Plugins
To make your website more secure, you should install an overall WordPress security plugin, such as an All-in-One Security plugin. This plugin comes with login security tools, a web application firewall, content protection features, audit logs, and malware scanning.
This makes it a perfect all-round security plugin.
Installing this plugin will make your WordPress website more secure and help you successfully prevent multiple kinds of cyber attacks.
7. Update Your WordPress Website Regularly
Last but not least, make sure to keep your WordPress website updated. A lot of brute force attacks happen because of vulnerabilities exposed to your WordPress website.
To check if your WordPress is up-to-date, go to WordPress Dashboard and navigate to Updates. You will find all the updates related to themes, plugins, or software here.
Apart from keeping your WordPress updated, you should also regularly back up your WordPress. If you become a victim of a cyber attack where your data is lost, you can easily recover it.
Final Words
A brute force attack is a serious threat to your WordPress website’s sensitive data. If you are digitally active on the internet, you will be facing attacks now and then.
But if you follow best practices and the methods we discussed above, you can prevent brute force attacks.
You must implement all of the above ways to make your WordPress website secure. It is always best to be prepared beforehand; you never know when you will be the target of an attack. Every year, a lot of sensitive data is lost due to cyber-attacks. If you wish to stay safe and avoid data breaches, follow these steps carefully.
Don’t forget to update your WordPress, always use strong passwords, implement 2-factor authentication verification, and install powerful security plugins.
0 Comments