WordPress Security Audit Checklist: 7 Steps To Protect Your Site

As the owner of a WordPress site, not knowing if your website is truly secure can be unsettling. With online threats everywhere, it’s natural to feel anxious about protecting your site.

You might find yourself asking: Is my WordPress site hacked? Are there any hidden gaps that hackers could exploit? This uncertainty can leave you feeling uneasy and constantly on edge.

Fortunately, a WordPress security audit can help. It’s like a check-up for your website, revealing which parts are secure and which need improvement. By pinpointing strengths and weaknesses, you can take action to keep your site safe giving you peace of mind.

TL;DR: A security audit is essential for spotting vulnerabilities and keeping your WordPress site secure. Regular checks along with reviewing your WordPress logs will help you identify and fix issues early on. BlogVault’s all-in-one dashboard makes these tasks easy, allowing you to efficiently manage scans, updates, and backups for complete site protection.

What is a WordPress security audit?

A WordPress security audit is a thorough check-up to see how safe your site really is. The goal is to find any hidden problems that might let hackers sneak in and cause trouble. Here’s how it works:

During this audit, various elements of your website are examined. This includes plugins, themes, user access, and the database, which holds all your site’s information. You’re looking for outdated software or errors in configuration that might serve as entry points for hackers.  

The process can be complex and time-consuming, particularly as it often involves examining the code to detect errors or vulnerabilities before performing penetration testing. Penetration testing is a process that simulates attacks on your site to identify weaknesses.

Because of the complexity and technical expertise required, we recommend using a security plugin instead. These tools automatically detect and fix issues, providing essential protection without needing you to be a security expert.

How to perform a WordPress security audit?

Conducting a WordPress security audit is crucial for safeguarding your website and keeping user data secure. Here’s how you can go about it:

1. Run a security scan

Use a security plugin to scan your website regularly. These scans are designed to detect malware and vulnerabilities that could be potentially exploited by hackers. Carefully review the scan results and promptly address any flagged issues. 

Keep in mind that, we advise against using online tools or scanners. These tools lack the comprehensive access needed to thoroughly examine your site’s files and database. They can only perform a partial check and should not be considered a substitute for a robust security plugin.

BlogVault provides an all-in-one platform for efficiently managing your security tasks. Plus, with its one-click malware removal feature, you can quickly eliminate any detected threats.

2. Install a firewall

A WordPress firewall acts as a protective barrier, blocking harmful traffic before it can interact with your site. It filters incoming requests to prevent malicious IPs and suspicious activities from causing harm.  

You can choose between a cloud-based or plugin-based firewall for your site. Ensure it is configured properly to allow legitimate traffic while effectively blocking threats. Always keep your firewall updated to take advantage of the latest security enhancements.

Keep in mind to review the firewall logs regularly to spot suspicious patterns, like repeated failed logins or access attempts from strange locations. 

Additionally, set up alerts for unusual activities to quickly mitigate risks. For detecting and responding to threats like DDoS attacks, consider using a web application firewall (WAF) such as Cloudflare.

3. Ensure everything is up to date

Maintain the robustness of your WordPress core, themes, and plugins by routinely checking for updates. Developers release patches to fix vulnerabilities, so enabling automatic updates reduces risk. 

Before applying updates, create a staging site and test them on it to ensure compatibility and prevent disruptions. This proactive approach helps in maintaining site functionality while keeping security tight. 

BlogVault lets you manually check update compatibility on a staging site hosted on an independent server. Alternatively, it also automatically verifies your updates’ compatibility before applying them.

4. Monitor site analytics

Pay close attention to your site analytics for signs of unusual activity. Look for sudden spikes in traffic, visits from unexpected locations, or significant changes in user behaviour. 

Anomalies like these can indicate potential security issues. Setting alerts for significant changes in traffic patterns allows for quick action, especially if these signs suggest that Google may have blacklisted your site.

5. Review user accounts

Conduct a thorough audit of all user accounts to check who is logged in and ensure each one has an appropriate level of access. Deactivate or remove any outdated accounts, like those of former employees or collaborators, to minimize unauthorized access points. 

Reinforce user role practices to keep admin privileges strictly controlled. If user registration is not absolutely necessary, disable the Anyone can register option to reduce unauthorized access risks. 

However, if your site requires user registration, ensure that registration is secure and closely monitored to minimize potential vulnerabilities.

6. Strengthen login security

Complex passwords and password-expiration policies are critical for robust login security. Encourage regular updates to passwords and implement two-factor authentication (2FA) for an additional layer of protection. 

Regularly monitor login attempts via activity logs and watch for patterns of failed attempts, which could signal brute-force attacks on your site.

7. Ensure correct file permissions

Set file permissions to limit access to sensitive files and directories. For example, files like wp-config.php should be set to read-only. 

Most files typically have their permissions set to 644, and directories to 755, unless specified otherwise. If these values are incorrect, we recommend repairing your file permissions. 

Regularly auditing these permissions helps prevent unauthorized modifications that could compromise your site.

8. Set up an activity log

Implementing an activity log provides visibility into user actions across your site. This comprehensive log helps identify unusual behaviors, such as unexpected administrative changes or high activity from certain accounts. 

Regular review of these logs, coupled with setting notifications for specific actions like new user sign-ups or failed login attempts, enhances monitoring and response efficiency.

9. Validate backups for data security

Backups are essential for recovery after an incident. Choose a reliable backup plugin that performs regular backups of your site’s database and files. Ensure backups are stored securely in multiple locations, such as remote servers or cloud storage, and encrypt them to prevent unauthorized access. 

Periodically test your backups to guarantee swift recovery if needed. With BlogVault, you can count on encrypted backups stored across multiple data centers, taking your security a step further.

When to perform a security audit?

Here’s a simple guide to help you figure out the best times to do these important check-ups:

Regularly scheduled audits: It’s wise to set a regular schedule for security audits, like every three months or twice a year. This helps you keep an ongoing watch on your site’s safety and ensures nothing slips through the cracks.

After significant site changes: Anytime you make big changes to your site, like adding new plugins, changing themes, or tweaking how everything is set up, it’s a good idea to perform an audit. This can help catch any new security holes that might have appeared.

In response to suspicious activity: If you ever notice something odd happening on your site, like logins you didn’t authorize or unexpected changes, it’s time for an audit. It can help you quickly find and fix any potential threats before they get out of hand.

Following a security incident: If your site has been hacked or attacked, immediately remove the malware via a security plugin. Next, perform a security audit. This will help you assess the damage, find out how it happened, and put measures in place to prevent it from happening again.

Before launching a new site or feature: Whenever you’re about to launch something new, whether it’s a whole site or just a new feature, conduct an audit. It’s essential to make sure everything is secure before going live.

Compliance requirements: Sometimes, you might need to do audits to meet certain industry rules or laws. These regulations might require specific checks to ensure your site is up to standard.

Parting thoughts

Security audits play a crucial role in identifying and fixing vulnerabilities before they lead to issues. Alongside audits, ensure your security by keeping software up to date, using strong passwords, and regularly backing up your site. By adopting these measures, you can guard against online threats and maintain your site’s safety.

FAQs

How to ensure WordPress security?

To keep your WordPress site secure, update everything regularly, including plugins and themes. Use strong passwords, install security plugins, and make sure to back up your site often.

Is my WordPress site secure?

Check your site’s security by running a security audit. Use tools like MalCare to scan for vulnerabilities and keep a routine check on-site activities to spot anything unusual.

Is WordPress secure by default?

WordPress is quite secure when you first set it up, but it’s important to add extra layers of protection, like security plugins and strong passwords, to keep it safe over time.

How to do an audit on WordPress?

To perform an audit, start by scanning your site with a security tool. Next, review configurations, update all elements, check user roles, and make sure there are no open vulnerabilities.

How secure is WordPress login?

WordPress login can be very secure if you take steps like using strong passwords and enabling two-factor authentication. These measures make it harder for anyone to break in.