Open-source content management systems are incredibly popular these days.\u00a0 Unfortunately, one issue that has always plagued this type software is security.\u00a0 On the surface, it would seem as if open-source software is more secure than commercial products based on the reported number of security vulnerabilities and activity in the community.\u00a0 However, this is far from the truth and a misconception that has resulted in trouble for many website owners.\u00a0 With a proprietary solution such as the Microsoft Content Management Server, you are generally provided with support and insurance against security flaws.\u00a0 With open-source solutions, you are forced to rely on the support of the software’s developers and user community which means that nothing is guaranteed.<\/p>\n
Elements of CMS<\/strong><\/p>\n The open-source CMS consists of various elements, many of which contribute to vulnerabilities.\u00a0 The average software includes add-on modules, encryption mechanisms and a plethora of scripting errors.\u00a0 These elements can simply be a part of a certain product or included into the entire system.\u00a0 Completely securing such an application on a web server is no easy task.\u00a0 All publicly accessible server applications are designed for around the clock availability, providing access to visitors and attackers alike.\u00a0 Without the proper security implementations, an open-source CMS is essentially wide open for an attack.<\/p>\n Insecure software can inflict a significant amount of damage, especially when it comes to a program as functional as a content management system.\u00a0 When vulnerabilities in such software are exploited, the best result could be the defacing of your website.\u00a0 The worst case scenario would be the exposure of sensitive data that blemishes your credibility and possibly ruins your business.\u00a0 There have been various reported instances where vulnerable systems resulted in the leakage of Social Security numbers, credit card details and other personal information.<\/p>\n Joomla, Drupal and other CMS Targets<\/strong><\/p>\n It is no surprise that some of the most widely used open-source content management systems such as Joomla and Drupal are among the most targeted on the web.\u00a0 The fact that the source codes of these systems are freely available and have numerous installations make them a prime target.\u00a0 While the average visitor can’t distinguish between a commercial and open-source product, they tend to be easily identifiable to attackers.\u00a0 A simple web browser along with the viewing of URLs and HTML patterns in search engine results can give a hacker all the information they need to strike.<\/p>\n One of the most attractive aspects of the open-source CMS is that you can customize and actually own a particular product.\u00a0 On the other hand, because the software is originally developed by someone else, it is very likely that there are a few things you don’t know about the program, meaning you can’t ensure security after making changes.\u00a0 This is why many open-source systems include disclaimers against third-party modification as well as the overall security of the software, basically telling developers to use at their own risks.<\/p>\n With so many people handling the code, it is unpractical to think that any open-source CMS will ever be 100% secure.\u00a0 The best thing you can do when relying on these solutions is to understand the risks, make sure you are using the most recent versions and design your web pages with caution.\u00a0 Attackers are persistent but not nearly as powerful when their methods of attack are limited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Open-source content management systems are incredibly popular these days.\u00a0 Unfortunately, one issue that has always plagued this type software is security.\u00a0 On the surface, it would seem as if open-source…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[7382,242,58,102],"class_list":["post-123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-security-issues","tag-cms","tag-encryption","tag-open-source","tag-security"],"views":127,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}