I have been running various online businesses and projects since the late 90’s (yeah, it’s been awhile). However, I don’t claim to know much of anything when it comes to cybersecurity or just plain ol’ basic protecting your online presence other than backing up my own data.
So when Crowdstrike crapped the bed this past week with their enterprise-level security products it brought down the airlines, banking, and all manner of important online services.
A tidbit to bring you up to speed:
…it might be because your company is a customer of Crowdstrike Holdings Inc. More likely, you were trying to catch a flight that was delayed or cancelled because the airline relied on Crowdstrike. Or you walked through New York’s Times Square with the eery sight of blank digital billboards around you.
Millions of Windows computers, and especially ones running large, global systems, were afflicted by a botched update for the cybersecurity company’s anti-ransomware software last week. It wasn’t a hostile act but rather a snafu with the digital infrastructure designed to guard against bad actors.
It’s scary to think that this type of cyber meltdown is possible due to a ‘snafu’. A ‘botched update’.
Well, that’s reassuring.
Similarly, the amount of websites that get hacked these days is truly monumental….to the tune of 30,000 sites a DAY.
WordPress is one of the big offenders. Over 470 million sites use WordPress.
Now, I use WordPress for virtually all my sites and client projects. But due to the amount of plugins and bad installs (and lack of basic protections) it’s a huge target.
Yes, you should already be using WordPress (you are, right?). Flexible, highly customizable, fast and free. But, you can’t just do a stock install and not expect at some point…someone (or something) is not going to try and hack you. It’s only a matter of time.
I have a simple solution. It’s called WP Cerber.
To explain it in the most simple terms, it’s a WordPress plugin that protects your website from hackers.
From the WP Cerber site:
A stack of sophisticated inspection algorithms screen incoming requests for malicious code patterns and traffic anomalies. Bot detection engine identifies and mitigates automated attacks.
It Blocks malicious activity before it harms your data.
And…it’s free. (They have a paid version, but you probably don’t need it)
I’ve been using it on all my sites for years. The bottom line is you need this, trust me.
It’s not hard to set up. It’ll take you an hour or so to configure (they have great tutorials) and then you’re set. (Note: First thing you want to do when you set it up is create a custom login page. That alone will put you ahead of 99% of the websites security-wise online)
Don’t let Vladimir from Russia ruin your day.
Go check it out. If you have a question, send me an email and I’ll do my best to give you a hand.
Ken
