Top 5 Ways To Secure Your WordPress Site After A Data Breach
Tags: databreach, security, wordpress
Published: 2022-09-15 10:13:31

Compromised passwords cause 8% of WordPress data breaches, and outdated plugins cause 52% of WordPress vulnerabilities. If you have fallen victim to a data breach, you need to know where your weak spots are and how to resolve them.

Keep reading to learn the top 5 ways to secure your WordPress site after a data breach. This guide will cover everything you need to know to avoid future breaches that could harm the reputation of your business and cause significant losses.
Ensure All Users Change Their Password
If your WordPress site is breached, you must close all security gaps to prevent a second breach. Having one breach will put your clients’ trust in the balance - having two can jeopardize your company.

Compromised passwords cause many data breaches. You must ensure that all network users change their passwords to remove any vulnerabilities. You should also provide your employees with all the information they need to set strong and unique passwords, ensuring their password strength is sufficient to protect your business from a second breach.

[Password management software](https://dev.to/rusty_sys_dev/switching-to-keepass-and-syncthing-for-password-management-1klh) is one of the best ways to enforce strong passwords across your business. Password management software acts as a digital vault for your employees’ passwords, allowing them to remember their passwords easily. If their password is compromised, the software will automatically send your employee a notification, allowing them to change their password quickly. Additionally, password management software helps employees analyze their passwords' strength and advises them to change any passwords they have used for multiple accounts. Password management software can help enforce company-wide password health and fortify your business against future password breaches.

## Use A Zero-Trust WordPress Plugin

Zero-trust is a [cybersecurity policy](https://governmentworkerfi.com/wfh-security-tips/) that ensures users only gain access to the information they need to carry out daily operations. If your employee’s account becomes compromised, this could give the cyber attacker access to all of your company’s critical data. However, if you only give users access to the data they need for daily operations, you can limit your exposure if an employee account is breached.

WordPress plugins are highly beneficial for controlling permissions for users on your WordPress site. The website owner will be able to manage user permissions based on their assigned role, ensuring they can only access necessary information for daily operations. Using a WordPress plugin that enforces [role-based access control models](https://www.openpath.com/blog-post/access-control-models) is one of the best ways to implement zero-trust and reduce the impact of a data breach.

## Alert Your Customers

When you experience a data breach, you must alert your customers of the violation. This allows them to alter their website details and prevent their account and payment information from becoming compromised. You should advise your customers to change their login information and investigate whether any of their data was compromised in the breach to alert them. 

## Review Your Sitemap

When your site is breached, the cyber attacker may plant URLs and redirect to malicious pages that could compromise your customers’ information and devices. So, it’s essential to review your sitemap following a data breach to ensure that your site is free from malicious redirects.

## Ensure No Scripts Were Added

One of the most important things to do following a data breach is to ensure no scripts are added by performing an audit on your site. You can do this by taking the following steps:

- Check plug-ins and software versions - you need to regularly update your software and plug-ins to patch any bugs, resolve security vulnerabilities, and maximize performance. Out-of-date software can contain vulnerabilities that are not present in the latest version.
- Check your site speed - you need to ensure your site is operating at total capacity, so you do not lose any potential leads with buffering and errors. You can use GooglePageSpeed to get your site speed ranked out of 100.
- Check security - check your site for malware, suspicious code, and viruses. Wordfence is an excellent plugin you can use to harden your security with firewalls and reduce your vulnerability to future cyber attacks.
- Check your links - you need to ensure that all links on your site are operational, and you can do this using the WordPress redirection plugin. 

## Implement Backups

If your site becomes compromised, one of the fastest ways to get you back online is to have backups. You need to ensure your backups are stored in safe digital locations so that hackers cannot access them. You need to educate your IT team on the importance of regular backups to ensure you have a recent version of your website available in case of a breach.

## Summary

Security breaches are seriously detrimental to your business health. Having a data breach on your WordPress site can make your customers and clients less trusting of your company, and it can cause your website to go down for a significant period, leading to losses. By implementing these strategies, you can fortify your business against future breaches and minimize the impact of future violations.