Page 63 - Cyber Warnings

How Can You Tell If Your WordPress Site Has Been Hacked?

WordPress is the foundation of a large chunk of the web, which makes it an obvious target for
criminals and hackers. If attackers find a vulnerability in WordPress, they have a key that opens
millions of websites.

Each WordPress site represents processing power, bandwidth, and a potential audience, all of
which are useful to criminals.

And because WordPress tends to be used by less technically able users who may not
appreciate the importance of choosing a good password or regularly updating their content
management system, it’s a good bet that a significant proportion of WordPress sites are easy
pickings.
All of which means that WordPress site owners need to be aware what a hacked WordPress
site looks like. Hackers use bots to scour the web for vulnerable sites, and, over its lifetime, the
average WordPress site will be targeted dozens of times.

If you’re unlucky or careless about security, your site may well be hacked at some point. You’re
unlikely to know about it until it’s too late — hackers are sneaky and they go to great lengths to
ensure that no-one, and especially not the site’s administrators, discovers that the site has been
compromised.

Nevertheless, there are numerous tell-tale signs that all is not well.

Google Tells Your Users The Site Is Hacked

It’s unfortunately often the case that owners of compromised sites discover there’s a problem
because their users are informed by Google Chrome or another web browser.

Google carries out frequent malware scans of the sites in its index, and if it finds that a site has
been compromised and is serving malware, it will display a prominent warning to visitors.

From your perspective, the site may look perfectly fine, but Googlebot and ordinary users
probably see something different to what you — as a logged-in administrator — can see.

Increased Resource Use

Hackers target websites for various purposes: sending spam email, distributing malware,
carrying out DDoS attacks, and so on. All require bandwidth and processing power.

If your site’s resource use suddenly skyrockets without an obvious reason, there’s a good
chance it’s being used by a malicious third-party.

63 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine October 2016 Edition
Copyright © Cyber Defense Magazine, All rights reserved worldwide