Most website owners think: "My site is small — who would hack it?" The reality is different. Attackers don't pick their victims manually. They use automated tools that scan hundreds of thousands of sites at once and attack any that have a vulnerability.
The size of your business doesn't matter. The vulnerabilities — do.
The scale of the problem
The numbers speak for themselves:
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sites hacked per day | 30,000 | Forbes |
| Attacks targeting small businesses | 43% | Verizon DBIR |
| Average cost of a data breach | USD 4.45M | IBM 2024 |
| SMBs that shut down after a cyberattack | 60% | within 6 months |
| GDPR fines (maximum) | EUR 20M / 4% turnover | Regulation (EU) 2016/679 |
And most importantly: most of these attacks are entirely preventable.
How do attackers find your site?
Understanding the process is the first step toward defending against it.
Automated scanning
Tools like Shodan, Masscan and dozens of attack scanners constantly crawl the internet looking for:
- ✓WordPress sites with known vulnerabilities
- ✓Open ports and misconfigured servers
- ✓Outdated plugins and libraries
- ✓Weak passwords and default credentials
Your site is being scanned multiple times a day — whether you know it or not.
Google Dorks
Attackers use specific Google queries to find vulnerable sites. For example:
inurl:wp-login.php surfaces every WordPress site with an exposed login page.
Leaked credentials
If your email and password have leaked from another site (haveibeenpwned.com will tell you), attackers try those same credentials on your site. Credential stuffing is one of the most successful attacks.
OWASP Top 10 — the most common vulnerabilities
OWASP (the Open Web Application Security Project) maintains a list of the 10 most critical vulnerabilities. They account for roughly 90% of web attacks.
1. Broken Access Control
Users access resources they have no rights to. Example: changing user_id=123 to user_id=124 in the URL and seeing someone else's profile.
2. Cryptographic Failures
Sensitive data (passwords, personal data, payment information) isn't properly encrypted. Classic example: passwords stored as plain text.
3. Injection
SQL injection is the most classic attack. A query like admin' OR '1'='1 can grant access without a password.
4. Insecure Design
Architectural mistakes where the design itself is unsafe. You can't patch your way out — you need a redesign.
5. Security Misconfiguration
Default passwords (admin/admin), open S3 buckets, debug mode in production, excessive permissions. Extremely common on WordPress.
6. Vulnerable Components
Outdated libraries, plugins or frameworks with known CVEs. Attackers track new CVEs and attack unpatched systems immediately.
7. Authentication Failures
No rate limiting (enables brute force), weak passwords, no MFA, unsafe "Forgot Password" flows.
8. Data Integrity Failures
Using untrusted data for critical operations without verification. Deserialisation attacks, supply chain risks.
9. Security Logging Failures
No logs. When an attack happens, you have no way of knowing what happened, when, or what was compromised.
10. Server-Side Request Forgery
The attacker makes your server send requests to internal resources or external systems. Critical in cloud infrastructure.
username: admin' OR '1'='1 password: anything → the query becomes: SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = 'admin' OR '1'='1' AND password = 'anything' → '1'='1' is always true → access without a password
Signs your site is compromised
Sometimes an attack is obvious. Sometimes not. Here are the signs:
Obvious signs
- The page shows different content than expected
- Antivirus software blocks the site
- Google shows "This site may be dangerous"
- Your hosting provider suspended your account
Hidden signs (more dangerous)
- Unusual traffic from unknown countries
- New admin accounts you didn't create
- Unknown files on the server
- Emails sent without your knowledge
- The site running slow (crypto mining)
What does a security audit include?
A good security audit is not just an automated scan. It combines automated tooling with manual testing by an engineer.
Technical testing
- OWASP Top 10 — every one of the 10 categories
- SQL/NoSQL injection — all input fields
- XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)
- CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery)
- Authentication testing — brute force, sessions
- Authorisation testing — RBAC, IDOR
- API security — REST and GraphQL endpoints
Infrastructure analysis
- SSL/TLS configuration — versions, cipher suites
- HTTP security headers — CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options
- Server hardening — SSH, open ports
- Dependency scanning — CVEs in libraries
- Secrets management — .env, vault, leaked keys
Deliverable
- Detailed report with every vulnerability found
- CVSS score (severity) for each issue
- Concrete remediation steps
- Prioritised plan — what to fix first
- Executive summary for management
How often should you run a security audit?
| Site / situation | Minimum frequency |
|---|---|
| Static site / business card | Once a year |
| Actively evolving application | Every 6 months |
| SaaS with user data | Quarterly + on major changes |
| Payments / financial systems | Pre-launch + yearly (PCI DSS) |
| Health / personal data (GDPR) | Pre-launch + on significant changes |
| After a suspicious incident | Immediately |
6 quick measures you can take today
Without waiting for an audit, here's what you can do right now:
Check whether your credentials have leaked
Go to haveibeenpwned.com and enter your work email. If it's been compromised — rotate passwords everywhere.
Turn on Two-Factor Authentication
For every admin account — WordPress, hosting, cloud, GitHub. Even a weak password with MFA is significantly safer than a strong one without.
Update everything
WordPress core, themes, plugins, npm/composer packages. Most WordPress attacks exploit known vulnerabilities in outdated plugins.
Check your SSL configuration
Go to ssllabs.com/ssltest and enter your domain. Aim for an A or A+ rating. B or below means outdated TLS versions or weak cipher suites.
Check your security headers
Go to securityheaders.com
and enter your domain. It shows which headers are missing.
Minimum: Content-Security-Policy, Strict-Transport-Security, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options.
Backup strategy
Make sure you have an up-to-date backup stored off the server (S3, Backblaze, another server). When an attack hits — the backup is your insurance. Test the restore monthly.
One successful attack costs more than the entire audit
Average data breach cost: USD 4.45M (IBM). For small and medium businesses: reputational damage, GDPR fines, lost customers and months of recovery. Prevention is significantly cheaper.
// SINGULARITY EDGE STUDIO
Three levels of security audit
- Express Security Scan300 – 500 EUR
- Full Web App Audit800 – 1,800 EUR
- Infra & DevOps Audit600 – 1,500 EUR
Do you know which vulnerabilities your site has?
Free 30-minute consultation — we discuss scope, risks and the right audit package for your system.
Request an audit →Conclusion
Security isn't a one-off action — it's a process. But it all starts with understanding your current state.
Do you know which vulnerabilities your site has right now? If the answer is "no" — attackers know instead of you.
Prevention is always cheaper than consequences.
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