WordPress Website Security: The Role of Firewalls and Optimization Methods

WordPress Firewall is like a special protection tool designed specifically for WordPress websites. It is actually a Web Application Firewall (WAF) that is designed to protect your WordPress website from all kinds of web attacks.

Firewall concepts

A firewall is like a doorman in your home that sits between your computer network and the Internet outside. Its job is to check all the information coming in and out and decide what can get through and what can't, just like a doorman decides who can come in and who can't. This is done to protect your computer from outside attackers.

For example, when you're surfing the web over WiFi at home, your WiFi router acts as a firewall. It helps you sift through the information, letting in good connections and blocking bad ones. Almost all home WiFi routers these days come with such a feature to help you automatically secure your home network.

Web Application Firewall

Let's put it in simple terms:

First Generation Firewall: Packet Filtering

Imagine the first generation of firewalls as being like a gatekeeper whose job it is to check everyone's passes (packets) to decide who can come in. But the gatekeeper couldn't really read what the passes said, only the type of pass. If your site needs to be open to the public, it's like you're telling the gatekeeper, "Let anyone with a type 80 pass in." That way, anyone with that type of pass (traffic) can come in, whether they're good or bad.

Second Generation Firewalls: Stateful Filtering

The second generation firewall is like a gatekeeper with upgraded intelligence, not only checking the type of pass, but also memorizing everyone's face (to know the status of the connection). He knows who is visiting for the first time and who is already inside. This allows the doorman to more intelligently control who gets in, for example, by only letting in people he already knows, giving the administrator more control.

Third Generation Firewall: Application Layer Filtering

A modern, third-generation firewall is like a super-smart gatekeeper who not only knows everyone's pass type and face, but also understands what everyone is saying (and understands the specifics of the data). This means that if someone says they're here to deliver something to an FTP server, the gatekeeper understands and verifies this. If they are here to visit a website, the gatekeeper similarly knows what they want to see. Such a gatekeeper is able to control traffic very precisely, ensuring that only the right visitors get through, providing a higher level of protection.

Web Application Firewall / WordPress Firewall

Web application firewalls are single-scope firewalls. Their role in the network is to protect websites from malicious hackers.

WordPress Firewall is a web application firewall specifically designed to protect WordPress. When a WordPress firewall is installed on your WordPress site, it creates a firewall between your site and the Internet.Run to analyze all incoming HTTP requests.

The WordPress firewall disconnects when an HTTP request contains a malicious load.

How does the WordPress firewall work?

WordPress firewalls detect malicious requests in a similar way that malware detects malware infections. They use a list of known attacks called signatures, and when the load of an HTTP request matches a signature, it means the request is malicious.

Most WordPress firewalls do not allow you to modify attack characteristics. However, web application firewalls that are not WordPress-centric are highly configurable. You can customize them specifically for your website, whether it's WordPress or a custom solution. You can create your own set of security rules, terms and conditions, and more. However, you should be very careful when configuring your web application firewall not to block legitimate traffic.

Some Web application firewalls also haveauto-learningTechnology. This heuristic technique analyzes your site's traffic to see what is legitimate and what is not.

Site-specific WordPress Web Application Firewall

Generic web application firewalls can also be used as WordPress firewalls. These can be specialized hardware devices or software.

Universal Web Application Firewalls are installed between your WordPress site and your Internet connection. As a result, every HTTP request sent to your WordPress site first passes through the WAF. These WAFs are undoubtedly a more secure solution than WordPress firewall plugins. However, they are expensive and require specific technical expertise to manage them. For this reason, they are usually not used by small businesses.

Online WordPress Website Firewall

Unlike a self-hosted WordPress firewall plugin or appliance, an online WordPress firewall does not need to be installed on the same network as your web server. It is an online service that acts like a proxy server, where traffic to your site is filtered and then forwarded to your site.

When you use an online WordPress firewall, you can configure your domain's DNS records to point to the online WAF. this means that your website visitors are actually communicating with the online WordPress firewall, rather than directly with your WordPress website.

Typically, an online firewall has multiple scopes. In addition to protecting your WordPress site from hackers, it can also be used as a caching server and CDN. online web application firewalls are also very affordable compared to self-hosted generic web application firewalls.

Bypassing online firewalls

A known limitation of the online WordPress firewall is that your web server must be accessible via the Internet for the WAF to forward traffic to your WordPress site. This means that if everyone knows the IP address of your web server, they can still communicate directly with your web server.

So, in an untargeted WordPress attack, the attacker simply scans the entire network for vulnerable sites, and your web server and sites remain directly accessible. However, you can always configure your server's firewall to only respond to traffic coming through your online WordPress firewall to avoid becoming a victim of such an attack.

General Limitations of the WordPress Firewall

• Limited zero-day exploit protection

One of the most common WAF protection techniques is to check the payload of HTTP requests against a database of signatures. So when someone visits your site, WAF checks the payload against a database of known web attacks. If it matches, it means it's malicious, and if it doesn't, it's allowed to pass.

Therefore, if there is a zero-day WordPress vulnerability, your WordPress firewall may not be able to stop the attack. This is why the responsiveness of your vendor is crucial, and you should always use software from a responsive and trustworthy organization. The sooner your vendor updates your firewall, the better.

Web Application Firewall Bypass

Web application firewalls are like any other software. They have their own problems and can be vulnerable. In fact, you can find tons of white papers and articles discussing techniques used to bypass Web application firewall protection. But then again, as long as the vendor is responsive and fixes such issues, all is well.

Should You Use a WordPress Firewall?

Indeed! Which WordPress Firewall should you use? Every WordPress firewall has its pros and cons, so choose the one that best suits your requirements. However, even if you have a WordPress firewall, don't let your guard down.

There is no foolproof solution for WordPress security. Therefore, you should always reinforce > monitor > improve > test. You should:

• Keeping an Activity Log on Your WordPress Website
• Implementing a Rock-Solid WordPress Backup Solution
• Add two-factor authentication
• Implementing a Strong WordPress Password and Login Policy

Sure, there's a lot more that can and needs to be done, but it's a good start.