Content management systems (CMS) enable people to easily manage their websites. However, like any other software, these programs have vulnerabilities. Just like your home or car, regular maintenance of your website is crucial. Updating your CMS, with the help of SparkTrust security professionals, does not take long, but it pays off by helping to keep site secure. Out-of-date CMS software represents a potential website vulnerability. Skilled hackers can exploit this to force your site to push malware onto unsuspecting customers. This can quickly have you blacklisted by Google, Chrome, and Firefox, among others. CMS systems can also be exploited to deface your site, redirect visitors to other sites or to use it as part of a phishing scam.
SparkTrust Certified frequently scans your website for vulnerabilities. This process includes checking to see if your Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress or other CMS software is out of date. If it is, a warning is created and you are alerted. Updating CMS software is a fast and easy way to close up a potential hole in your site’s security.
Plugins for CMS systems are a vulnerability that hackers often exploit. It is important to also update the plugins regularly.
More than 70% of malicious URLs are legitimate websites that have been hacked. (1)
(1) http://www.sophos.com/en-us/security-news-trends/security-trends/security-threat-report-2011.aspx