A recent WordPress security infographic shows that more than 170,000 WordPress sites were hacked in 2012. That is an increase of more than 18% when compared to the 144,000 hacked WordPress sites in 2011. Such an increase in WordPress hacking attacks clearly shows that WordPress blogs and websites are becoming a playground for malicious hackers and script kiddies.
Safety and Security of WordPress Blog
The WordPress security infographic includes tips you can follow to get started with WordPress security. The infographic also recommends WordPress owners to monitor the logs and activity of their sites, files and web server. A good recommended plugin that allows you to monitor your WordPress users and anything else happening on your site is WordPress security plugin WP Activity Log. This WordPress security and management plugin also allows you to identify issues before they become a problem.
Quick Facts & Statistics from the WordPress Security infographic
- 41% of hacked WordPress were hacked through a security vulnerability on their hosting platform
- 29% were hacked via a security issue in the WordPress Theme they were using
- 22% were hacked via a security issue in the WordPress Plugins they were using
- 8% were hacked because they had a weak password.
From the above we can conclude that more than 51% of hacked WordPress sites were hacked via a vulnerability in the WordPress themes and plugins they were using.
Therefore before installing your next WordPress plugin check out our recommendations on evaluating WordPress plugins. And if you are a WordPress plugin or theme developer, it is recommended to do frequent WordPress theme and plugin security code audit.
Safety and Security of WordPress Blog Infographic
Click on the WordPress infographic image below to maximize it.