When talking about information security, the tone is often negative: there are risks, threats, and dangers, all of which require attention and constant readiness for the worst-case scenario. Additionally, AI is making attacks against websites more efficient and dangerous than ever before.
Does cybersecurity seem like a demanding time-sink to you, or do you view it as a vital routine amidst your business processes? Are your company’s websites actually secure? If your site is small and has few visitors, does taking care of its security even matter?
The short answer is: of course it matters. Even if your company’s operations are small-scale and its site is just a tiny drop in the vast ocean of the internet, cybercriminals should never be given access to your data.
How should SMEs or growing organizations handle security? How to even get started with it? What practical tips does a security expert have for site owners, admins, and developers?
Security is a Collaborative Effort
Jani Räty is a cybersecurity expert currently serving as a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in the banking sector. His expertise includes security management, risk management and compliance, disaster recovery planning (DRP), and business continuity planning (BCP). He has deepened his expertise with CISM and CISSP certifications and is also a certified ISO 27001 lead auditor.
We spoke with Räty about the current state of security and the new threats facing WordPress sites. We also share tips on how to look after a company’s security and how to get started.
When to Outsource?
Today, any company taking its business seriously has a website: it may serve as an e-commerce store, a portfolio, a knowledge base, or a digital business card. At the very least, your website is where your company’s contact information should be found.
WordPress is an excellent platform because it allows for simple presentation pages that can later be evolved into fully functional, sophisticated online stores with various integrations.
The Art of Taking Good Care of WordPress
A site’s security can be threatened if WordPress, server software, and their updates are not handled properly and on time. While WordPress is open-source and can be self-hosted, you need to know what you are doing. However, technical maintenance and web development can be outsourced to partners with required expertise.
While WordPress is an accessible and versatile Content Management System (CMS), it’s worth stopping to think if you really should try to do everything yourself – from server management onwards.
Even Small Sites Are Security-Critical
Even if you don’t consider your website’s content significant, a cybercriminal might see the data it contains differently.
“Even if a site doesn’t contain business-critical data, leaked information can be used in phishing scams. Smaller companies’ sites typically have vulnerabilities caused by neglected updates,” Räty explains. New security holes are discovered in software constantly, making active patching essential.
WordPress sites typically contain at least the email addresses of users. By breaking into a site and combining data from multiple different breaches, criminals can use even minor pieces of information to carry out larger scams.
Monitoring is Key
If a site is not monitored, a cybercriminal can operate freely after a breach. “On the surface, nothing seems wrong: there’s web traffic, and user credentials look normal. Only later might the site owner or admin notice that malicious code has been hidden on the page, redirecting users to a fake site built by the criminal. The page might be well-constructed and look authentic,” Räty summarizes.
“Through a malicious link embedded on the site, a user can be misled to a phishing page that might look like an ordinary, trivial page.” For example, a fake product page can trick an online shopper into giving up more personal information, even if the site itself contains nothing critical. Scam sites are built constantly, with many recent examples appearing in the news.
Machines Help Hackers
Malware is constantly being pushed into company systems. Usually, it isn’t a human doing the work, but a computer attempting to breach the system. For instance, botnets can use the power of numerous computers to guess your site’s passwords. If they find a weak password, the bots get in. After the breach, a human can take over to explore what kind of data did they manage to steal.
Consequences of a Data Breach
“If you go for the cheapest hosting service, the buyer is responsible for everything. If a breach occurs and the mess needs to be cleaned up, you’re up for a tremendous headache and, in the worst case, a hefty bill. Restoring data takes time and money, and the whole process can last for months,” Räty describes.
Investigating a security incident doesn’t just consume time and energy. Räty adds: “The result is also reputational damage if the site is compromised. Breach details may have to be investigated far back into the past if the site has been compromised for a long time.”
Look at the Big Picture
Another especially vulnerable area is third-party services linked to the site. These include content delivery networks (CDNs), domain and DNS management, or marketing tools – basically any and all external systems and integrations connected to the website’s functionalities.
Work life is busy, and many companies have schedules overflowing with deadlines. Employees are juggling many urgent tasks, causing routines to fall by the wayside. Does anyone have the time to care for security with sufficient devotion and care?
“You shouldn’t save money in the wrong places. It’s better to choose the most easily maintained option and leave it to an expert,” Räty says.
WordPress Security
Regarding content management systems, Räty has experience with both Joomla and WordPress. In his opinion, their strengths lie in features that promote good security, such as defining different levels of access via user roles. WordPress can also notify the site admin if a new user account is created.
Regardless of the CMS, the key is knowing how to use, fix, and update it. Because WordPress sites typically consist of many different plugins, issues can arise during updates and conflicting code. This is why testing updates before applying them is important. Seravo offers its customers tested updates for WordPress to ensure that updates cause as little disruption to site functionality as possible.
What is Joomla?
Joomla is a CMS released in 2008. Like WordPress, it is based on open source. However, users often find WordPress more beginner-friendly, which may be why it is more popular. The volume of free plugins also attracts users to WordPress, thanks to a very active developer community.
The Importance of Open Source
The benefit of open-source systems is that their development is transparent. A larger group of people is involved in developing them, meaning potential issues in code and security holes can be identified and fixed efficiently. Closed (proprietary) systems do not have this advantage. “Closed” does not mean there are no holes: it just means they aren’t always known to everyone.
“Services are aimed to be as standardized as possible, because when more features are added to a system, more risks come with them,” Räty says. This is why Seravo also aims to keep its service standardized.
Companies can also get stuck with a certain system or provider because updating or migrating to a new system has been made difficult. This is called vendor lock-in. If a system’s maintenance and support end, security risks grow even further.
Investigate Before You Commit
“There are many abandoned projects and systems, where developers have moved their time and effort towards other projects, and the program is no longer actively developed. Then it’s likely that there are no patches or fixed released either. But in these situations, the solution cannot be to simply accept insecurity,” Räty laughs.
Räty gives concrete advice to those switching systems or software: “Before investing in a new system, evaluate its latest update status. When was it last updated? Does it have an active maintainer? Spending a little time researching saves you from long-term problems.”
How should a small or growing company handle security? For SMEs, hiring a full-time CISO is often too large an investment. This is where flexible service models come in. Räty suggests a tip for organizations just waking up to security: the virtual CISO.
Virtual CISO
A Virtual CISO (vCISO) is a security professional whose leadership services can be purchased for an organization if a full-time officer isn’t needed. A virtual CISO can spend a few hours per month reviewing what should be done to improve security and what would benefit the company’s specific situation.
If the need for security management grows, there is also the concept of a fractional CISO. This is a company’s own employee who spends part of their working time handling security issues. “Security must be done right from the start, as addressing it later can be difficult. External help is particularly useful when dealing with a critical field and the situation needs to be mapped out,” Räty underlines.
The Impact of AI on Cybersecurity
What about the much-hyped (but also criticized) artificial intelligence? What kind of an impact has it had on the security industry? Räty gives a sharp assessment: “AI accelerated attacks significantly, and finding an attack surface is easier than before. With AI, what used to take five people’s labor can now be achieved in one day.” As an example, Räty mentions Hexstrike-AI, which can be used to carry out extensive attacks without much human effort.
Compared to before, cybercriminals are increasingly targeting ordinary businesses, no matter their size. “Previously, some tools were only accessible to advanced users, but now they are practically available to everyone. As long as there’s money involved, the target is interesting to hackers.”
An arms race has emerged between attackers and targets, as both sides strive to develop their tools. AI and various security testing tools (e.g. pentesting) are intended for good, but any technology can be used for harm. Therefore, any system, such as website software, must be updated and patched actively.
Even if code is generated more easily and quickly in tomorrow’s world – thanks to vibe coding – human effort still matters. While Seravo’s site now uses a chatbot to answer initial queries, customer service by WordPress experts remains easily reachable. Additionally, Seravo’s system experts monitor your site status 24/7 and contact you if anything unusual is detected.
What is Vibe Coding?
Vibe coding is AI-assisted programming in which a human might not touch the code at all.
The Best Time for Better Security is Now
Security is based on trust between people, which must be earned and kept secure. Security is maintained by networking and working together. The best time for better security actions is right now. When did you last change your password? Have you enabled multi-factor authentication (MFA)? Do you use a password manager yet?
Summary: Tips for Better Business Security
- Map the security of your chosen system. Regularly check if the system has pending critical updates or is at the end of its life cycle. If it no longer supports modern security standards, consider replacing it entirely.
- Think about what to outsource. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Technical maintenance, system development, and security management are areas where an expert partner frees up company resources for core business.
- Choose a capable partner. Ensure that business-critical content is properly cared for. For websites, this means backups, tested updates, and availability monitoring.
- Train your staff. Systems are only as strong as their users. Regularly share information on secure practices and how to identify phishing attempts. Encourage good password hygiene, the use of password managers, and MFA.
- Follow the Principle of Least Privilege. Give employees and partners access only to the systems and data they absolutely need for their tasks – don’t give them admin privileges if they don’t need them.
Secure Your WordPress with Seravo
If you need help or advice with your WordPress site’s security, contact Seravo’s customer service. Our security experts are happy to answer questions. For us, security is not just a task for one team or a superficial feature: it is an integral part of Seravo’s corporate culture and hosting service. By moving to Seravo, your site also receives a unique Security Guarantee.
If your site is not yet hosted at Seravo, contact our sales or place an order, and let’s get started! Our service packages include everything essential for WordPress maintenance.
Seravo’s Premium Hosting for WordPress
- Tested updates for WordPress and plugins
- 24/7 monitoring in case of performance or availability issues
- Site availability SLA 99,9%
- Security Guarantee
- Effective caching out-of-the-box
- Optimized for WordPress and WooCommerce
- Real-time service availability status
- Pre-installed developer tools and preconfigured SMTP
- Servers powered by renewable energy
- Customer support by WordPress experts
- …and much more!