With the ongoing evolution of AI and specifically automated attacks on websites it is crucial that you remain diligent and do everything you can to protect your website. We at Samphire have invested in an audit tool, so we can monitor all of the websites we manage and mitigate against any potential vulnerabilities.
Automated AI-driven attacks on WordPress sites are becoming more common as attackers use machine learning to probe for vulnerabilities, bypass CAPTCHAs, and brute-force logins. Protecting your site requires a layered approach that goes beyond the usual basics. Here is what you need to do to protect your website in 3 simple steps:
- 1Harden Authentication
Always use strong passwords, upper and lower case, numbers and at least one no alpha-numeric character
Enable 2 Factor Authentication
Limit login attempts
Rename or hide the default …wp-login.php - 2Keep Software Updated:
WordPress core, themes, and plugins must always be up to date. AI scanners often exploit known CVE’s within hours of disclosure.
Remove unused plugins and themes to shrink your attack surface. - 3Detect and Respond:
Install and configure a security plugins, many have free versions, like Wordfence or Soild Security. These are simple to configure and will send email alerts of anything suspicious.
It is also crucial you have the best web hosting you can afford. Web host are a bit like cars, some are great, some, not so much. It does matter who you host with.
Get into the habit of regularly downloading a full site back-up and store it on your local machine or portable hard drive. So if disaster does strike you can rapidly spin up a copy of the site, at worst you may be missing a blog post or two or some other recent updates.
