CodeGuard Survey Reveals Serious WordPress Security Gaps

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47% of WordPress Users Surveyed by CodeGuard Reported That Website Backup Is Something They Do Every Few Months at the Most, Leaving Them Vulnerable to Data and Customer Loss Caused by Cyber Attack or Accidental File Deletion

ATLANTA, GA – Mar 10, 2015 — /BackupReview.info/ — CodeGuard has completed a survey of 503 WordPress users in order to better understand the risks associated with using the web’s most popular content management system. It turns out, WordPress users are more exposed than expected. According to the survey, conducted online February 18-20, 54% of respondents update WordPress between once a week and every few weeks, and yet, only 24% use a website backup plugin and only 23% have received extensive training in the use of such tools.

WordPress runs tens of millions of websites worldwide and the system is highly regarded for its affordability, flexibility and ease of use. The same reasons, at least indirectly, make WordPress susceptible to data and customer loss caused by cyber attack or accidental file deletion. WordPress users tend to be inexperienced technically, and most have limited IT budgets; 44% of CodeGuard survey respondents do not employ a website or IT manager. As a result, “white screens” are increasingly common, and WordPress attacks are on the rise.

Website backup is generally accepted to be the easiest and most cost-effective form of protection against WordPress failure. Cloud-based services can cost as little as $5 per month, and most don’t require that the user have any technical expertise whatsoever. It therefore comes as a surprise that 21% of survey respondents backup their sites only “occasionally.”

Some other interesting findings from CodeGuard’s survey:

• 25% have received “very little training” in the use of WordPress
• 22% haven’t been trained at all in WordPress backup and have “no idea” how to do it
• 21% have seen the “white screen of death” multiple times, and “it’s horrible!”
• 69% have had a plugin fail after an update, and 24% have had it happen “many times”
• 63% have deleted files that were not backed up
• 22% said that a backup plugin seems “unimportant” to them
• 24% said “This site is my livelihood, I’d pay almost anything for a complete restore,” while 19% said they’d be willing to spend several thousand dollars, at least

“WordPress vulnerability is a way of life for website owners, but they don’t have to live in fear,” says David Moeller, CEO at CodeGuard. “Regular training in the use of WordPress is a great form of prevention, as is website backup. In lieu of personal WordPress training, it behooves all website owners — especially those with an ecommerce or customer-facing website — to spend the relatively small sum of money it costs to hire an experienced IT manager. In today’s online business world, that expense amounts to the cost of doing business.”

About CodeGuard
CodeGuard is a leading provider of cloud-based website backup services, with over 250,000 websites and databases backed up at 99.9% reliability levels, and over 50,000 customers globally. Based in Atlanta, CodeGuard is transforming website management with innovative, patent-pending technologies that empower SMBs and agencies. Current partners include: Rackspace, Endurance International, Yahoo!, CloudFlare, Moz, WebHostingBuzz, Namecheap. CodeGuard has won awards from TechCrunch, Venture Atlanta and ATDC/TAG CapVenture, and is a TAG Top 40 Innovative Company in Georgia. More information can be found at www.CodeGuard.com.

Media Contact:
Kevin Wolf
TGPR
(650) 327-1641
kevin@tgprllc.com

Source: CodeGuard

Tags: CodeGuard