The Problem

According to Forbes, it is estimated that over 30,000 websites are hacked a day. That’s 1,250 per hour or about 21 each and every second. So, in the short time you’ve been reading this, over 100 websites have been hacked.

Hacked Websites Counter

WordPress is leading the CMS market with over 60% market share

This user adoption, however, brings about serious challenges to the internet as a whole as it introduces a large influx of unskilled webmasters and service providers responsible for the deployment and administrations of these sites. This assessment is amplified in our analysis, which shows that out of the 11,000 + infected websites analyzed, 75% of them were on the WordPress platform and over 50% of those websites were out of date. Compare that to other similar platforms that placed less emphasis on backwards compatability, like Joomla! and Drupal, the percentage of out-of-date software was above 80%.

As of March 2016, Google reports that over 50 million website users have been greeted with some form of warning that websites visited were either trying to steal information or install malicious software. In March 2015, that number was 17 million. Google currently blacklists close to ~20,000 websites a week for malware and another ~50,000 a week for phishing. PhishTank alone flags over 2,000 websites a week for phishing. These numbers reflect only those infections that have an immediate adverse effect on the visitor (i.e., Drive by Download, Phishing) and do not include websites infected with Spam SEO and other tactics not detected by these companies (Securi).

FBI SAYS ISLAMIC STATE WANTS TO HACK WORDPRESS WEBSITES

100,000+ WordPress Sites Compromised Using the Slider Revolution Security Vulnerability

50,000 sites hacked through WordPress plug-in vulnerability

13 Million MacKeeper Users Hacked — 21 GB of Data Exposed

Experian Breach: 15 Million T-Mobile Customers’ Data Hacked

Hackers put a bull’s-eye on small business – PC World

Cybercrime and hacking are even bigger worries for small business owners – The Guardian

Hacking a big danger for small businesses – USA Today
“It’s not just big businesses like JPMorgan Chase, Target and Home Depot that get hacked.”

The Big Business of Hacking Small Businesses – Inc. Magazine
“Hackers typically go after companies with fewer than 100 employees. Make sure you know how to shield your company from a major breach.”

A fast-growing threat to small business: Hackers – CNBC
“The cyberthreat against small businesses is mounting as attacks soar…”

Small Businesses Get Hacked, Too: Security Musts – H&R Block
“Data thieves target small and midsized businesses, believing that they’re easier prey than major corporations.”