The security of your WordPress website is becoming increasingly important as the digital age continues to mature. As security evolves in tandem with technological advancements, if you fail to keep up with the latest developments you’re leaving your site open to unnecessary risks.
Two-factor authentication has been around since 2013 as a way to add an extra layer of security to the login process. This means a password is required plus an authorisation code that is sent to your phone (by SMS) or email account in order to login to your site.
Implemented by Google and Twitter, it has become an extra layer of website security for users’ peace of mind. It is likely that two-factor authentication will become more widespread as more businesses understand why it’s a valuable security measure.
How Two-Factor Authentication Works
Since WordPress is a popular platform powering approximately 25% of all websites, security vulnerabilities are inevitable. They are a prone to hacker attempts, such as brute force attacks.
Brute force attacks refer to the trial and error method of trying multiple username and password combinations until a successful combination is discovered. As WordPress doesn’t limit the number of login attempts you can try before being locked out of your account, bots can use the brute force method to gain access through your login page.
Even if the bots don’t manage to gain access to your website, an unusually high frequency of login attempts can overload your system leading to being suspended from your hosting platform (particularly if you’re on a shared hosting plan).
A simple way to prevent brute-force attacks from being successful is to require a secondary step in the login process where the user has to verify their identity. It is this method that is known as two-factor authentication.
The way it works is that the user must first enter the correct login details (typically a username and password) and once this has been stage has been successful, a unique passcode will be sent to the registered user’s mobile device or email account. The user must then enter this time-sensitive code to successfully complete the log in.
Having two stages of identity verification makes it much harder for a hacker to gain access to your website.
Things to take into consideration before implementing two-factor authentication
Implementing two-factor authentication seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, one thing to consider is that you’ll need to provide training for your employees or anybody else who accesses the site so that they don’t end up locked out of their accounts. As some of your users may find it cumbersome using a second device or account each time they want to log in, you will need to reinforce why it’s an important security measure to take.
Since security continues to be the most prevalent issue for businesses of all shapes and sizes, it’s important to reduce unnecessary risks by implementing extra security measures and keeping them updated. Two-factor authentication is a great start to keeping your customer’s sensitive information safe by adding an extra layer of security to your WordPress website.
Keeping your WordPress core, themes and plugins updated and secure is incredibly important to the overall success of your business. For complete peace of mind, you may wish to outsource looking after your website security to somebody with the necessary expertise, such as WP Tech Support.
At WP Tech Support, your website’s security is our priority and we know exactly what we’re looking for when it comes to site vulnerabilities. Not only can we implement measures – such as two-factor authentication – to improve your current security level, we also backup your entire website to our secure cloud server every single day. Take a look at our monthly plans to find the one best suited to your requirements.