How safe is your blog right now? Like any website, blogs are vulnerable to security issues. At any given moment, your blog could come under attack from hackers, malware, or countless other threats you may not even know about.

With over 30,000 website hacking incidents reported daily and an estimated $10 trillion in annual damage expected by 2025 because of cybercrime, blog security has become more important than ever. 

From protecting your users’ data to keeping your content safe and secure, understanding how to improve your blog security protects you from online harm, lets your readers know they’re visiting a secure site, and even helps with SEO. 

Almost half of all cybercrime attacks target small businesses like blogs, and many bloggers don’t have the resources to recover from an attack on their websites. So, how do you secure your blog so we don’t have to face the threat of an attack? 

Most bloggers don’t even realize where their sites are most vulnerable, leaving the door open for hackers, thieves, and shady characters to sneak in. While most of us have taken care of the blog security basics, protecting a blog or website is more complex than you think. 

In this article, we’ll look at the most common and damaging blog security threats bloggers face today. We’ll unpack how to check up on your blog’s current security status, what you can do to improve it, the most useful blog security tips and how to ensure your blog is safely secured and protected.

As big businesses, agencies, and corporates have doubled down on keeping their online assets safe, cybercriminals are finding it more difficult to break into company websites and databases. 

This means that digital criminals are focusing on the growing blogging industry as a lucrative target. With more and more people generating bigger revenues, larger followings, and extensive databases through their blogs, blog websites have become a prime target – especially those who don’t have the expertise or expensive resources to protect them. 

The State of Blog Security

How to improve your blog security is an often-overlooked aspect of blogging that can have devastating consequences if ignored. With 43% of all cyber-attacks aimed at small businesses and an increase in almost every cybercrime category, staying up to date can be tough.

Unfortunately, most bloggers are creative professionals, unskilled in the art of fighting online security threats. 

Thankfully, we can take some basic steps to shore up our frontline defenses and cover off any blog security threats, gaps and vulnerabilities. 

Impact of Poor Blog Security

Privacy and user data protection are critical to ensuring your blogging success. You can be held liable if your user’s data is stolen, and negligence in keeping it safe can even lead to your blog being shut down.

Hackers love to take control of websites, publishing mischievous content and offensive posts, effectively destroying your brand just because they can. And if your blog covers YMYL content, you could end up in hot water as a result. 

And lax site security will negatively impact your blog’s SEO, not to mention the damage the perception of an unsecured blog site will have on your brand. Always remember, users want to feel safe too.

Before we go any further in understanding how to secure your blog, it’s important to remember that blog security and legal protection go hand-in-hand. As much as you’re required to protect your blog from security threats, you must also protect yourself. 

Legal blog protection comes in many forms. From disclosures and disclaimers to privacy policies and listing terms and conditions, legally protecting your blog is just as important as boosting your blog security.

Find out how to legally protect your blog here. 

Blogs face many different threats. Since blogs are available for anyone to read and are often frequented by hundreds or thousands of visitors each month, they’re naturally exposed to myriad security risks. 

As a general rule, the better your blog does and the more successful it is, the more likely you are to attract unwanted attention from online criminals. We look at some of these threats and break down how criminals and hackers use them to launch attacks on your blog.

Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks rank as the most common threat online, not just to bloggers but to everyone on the internet. Phishing attacks are responsible for 90% of all reported cybercrime, and this type of security threat is growing due to the ease and effectiveness of executing it. 91% of all phishing attacks launch with a phishing email, and phishing is an effective malware delivery system that is tough to combat.

Phishers, posing as legitimate contacts, send an email containing links or downloads. Once clicked or opened, these links and files give attackers access to sensitive information or infect your system with malware which allows them to access your sensitive data.

Password Attacks

Password attacks are a simple yet effective method criminals use to access your online profiles, networks, and more. Many people use weak passwords that are easy to guess or deploy the same passwords for multiple accounts. 

Hackers use brute force tactics to guess passwords, and once they’re in, they can snoop around undetected, take control of an account by changing the password or blackmail you with the information they steal. 

Malware

Malware is software written with the goal of harm to data or your devices. This software can access your computer or mobile device through various methods and channels. While phishing is the most popular method for getting malware into systems, you can be infected through unsecured networks, plugging into untrusted hardware, or downloading malware without even knowing about it. 

Viruses, trojan programs, or spyware all fall into the malware category, each capable of significantly harming your computer or systems. Learning how to improve your blog security to face these risks off is essential.

Ransomware

This is malware-type software used to take control of your computer, laptop, or mobile device. Once a hacker is inside your system, they can lock you out of your device, encrypting your data, and demanding that you pay a cash ransom before they return access. 

Some ransomware tactics include attackers who threaten to delete your files, share private data and content with others, or pose as you and do serious damage to your brand. Ransomware attacks have increased with the advent of cryptocurrencies, making it difficult to track attackers down after paying. These blog security threats can be the most damaging and stressful/

Data Theft

Data privacy is one of the biggest concerns among internet users. From simple email addresses to phone numbers, names, physical addresses, and personal preferences, armed with enough of your personal information, a criminal can steal your identity and wreak havoc with your life.  

When your readers submit their information to you, they expect you to keep it safe. So when you suffer a data breach, any trust that once existed is wiped out in an instant. Protecting your user data as well as your own privacy is also a legal requirement for blog and website owners in many countries. 

Improving your blog security is a process. Once you’ve taken the necessary actions and ensured that your defenses are up and running, you’ll need to keep an eye on things to stay protected. 

Here is an essential action checklist that you can begin with immediately to get your blog security up to speed. 

Now that you know the basics behind how to improve your blog security, here are some of the options you have at your disposal. There are many other standard and advanced security features, services, programs, and tools you can use to enhance your overall blog protection, as well as for specific threats, but we’ve picked the option we think are the most accessible, affordable, and essential.  

Security Plugins (for WordPress users)

WordPress-based websites use many plugins that are safe and secure. But adding one or more security plugins to your blog ensures you’re protected from most brute-force password attacks and hacking attempts. They do this by limiting login requests, reporting suspicious login activity, and blocking dodgy users. 

Security plugins are also effective at stopping malware from infecting your website and system while ensuring that welcome search engine crawlers aren’t mistaken for potential hackers. Top security plugins for WordPress include:

• Wordfence Security
• iThemes Security
• Jetpack

Firewalls (WAF)

A web application firewall (WAF) protects against attacks and blog security threats on an app or website level. While most operating systems and networks use regular firewalls to block unwanted visitors on a DNS level, WAFs take things further by filtering out malicious requests to the blog website or associated apps. 

The best WAFs are ideal for protecting your users’ data and payment information databases against attacks that come through your backend via apps and other sites.

2-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication methods follow a basic process: Request two separate identification methods before granting access. There are multiple options for standard authentication when using 2AF to secure your blog and login access:

• Knowledge – Things you know (like your password)
• Possession – Using something you have (like an OTP received on your smartphone)
• Authentication– Proof that you are who you say you are (like using biometrics). 

When two of these evidence factors are combined, your security is effectively doubled. Many 2FA methods have time limits, and some require logging in using separate devices.