WordPress Security, Russians and What You Can Do

As if we haven’t had enough of Russia, last month the folks at Wordfence, the #1 WordPress security plugin,  noticed a huge spike in brute force attacks from Eastern Ukraine.  Personally I have noticed these kinds of attacks for quite awhile, almost exclusively from Eastern Europe … because I have the Wordfence WordPress security plugin installed!
I always recommend Wordfence as the very first plugin to be installed on any new WP site being developed, and added to any existing site I come across.
What is a brute force attack? It is one that tries to guess your username and password to sign into your WordPress website.
How To Protect Yourself From These Attacks
Install the  free version of Wordfence  and you are automatically protected against brute force attacks. It’s that simple. Wordfence also automatically blocks the worst offenders completely, allowing you to prevent username discovery and immediately locking out invalid usernames.
Firewall, malware scan, blocking, live traffic, login security & more
With over 22 million downloads, Wordfence is the most popular WordPress security plugin available. Wordfence constantly monitors the WordPress attack landscape in real-time, alerting you quickly in the event your site is compromised.
The Wordfence Map
Look here! Click on the above Wordfence Map and witness real-time attacks of WordPress websites and the Wordfence WordPress security plugin in action. The Wordfence map is continually updated as you watch.
Some Background
It wasn’t until December 2015 that Putin first admitted Russian military intelligence officers were operating in Ukraine
In cyber security, attributing attacks to an individual or state is sometimes impossible. Attackers on the Internet can route their traffic through as many servers in as many countries as they like before they reach their target. The Russian intervention in Ukraine has made attribution of attacks even more complex.
It makes sense that disputed areas like eastern Ukraine and Syria are a hotbed of malicious activity because they provide attackers with means, motive and opportunity. Occupying forces have the means to launch their attacks by using local ISP’s.
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