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An Interview with Wordfence Senior Analyst Collette Chamberlain

by | Jun 29, 2016 | Technology, Web Development

Collette Chamberlain is one of two security analysts employed at Workfence. She is a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and a computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI). She carries out forensic investigation with the cleaning team to safely recover data in a timely manner. She doesn’t consider herself an “expert” because she feels there is always something to learn in WordPress Security.

 

Biggest Trends With Infecting Websites

One of the biggest trends in affecting websites is ransomware. There will be a code put into unsuspecting sites by the attackers, and this will redirect them to a non-secure site. These malicious sites have payloads that are downloaded on any sites on their computer that are outdated. People are then forced to pay money as a ransom to get their data back.  If they had backed up their information, this would likely not have happened.

 

Suggestions:

Have a good host, keep your site and programs up to date, install a security site like Wordfence and back up your hosting and FTP/SSH accounts. Another way to be aware of these attackers is to review your logs to look for threats.

 

Why Are These Attacks Happening?

Even though there are many advances with security software, hackers can still get through. There’s a common misconception that once you have the software you are secure – and that is the farthest from the truth. Colleen explains, “It’s not a matter of “if” I will be hacked, it’s a matter of “when”. “ When purchasing a Wordfence software, you must ask if the cost of a hacked site further exceeds the cost of Wordfence software. Attacks will still happen, after one is stopped and every day there are new ways hackers get to critical information. The only way to be completely safe from these hackers is to not go online at all.

 

 

Read the Full Interview Here