The three most common routes into a WordPress site are: outdated plugins with known CVE vulnerabilities (the majority of WordPress hacks), brute force attacks on wp-admin login, and weak or reused admin passwords. Addressing these three closes the vast majority of attack surface for most Australian business sites.
In priority order: (1) update WordPress core, themes and plugins immediately — especially security patches; (2) use strong, unique admin passwords and a password manager; (3) enable two-factor authentication on all admin accounts; (4) limit login attempts with a plugin (WP Cerber, Limit Login Attempts Reloaded); (5) change the default admin username from 'admin'; (6) install Wordfence or Sucuri for firewall and malware scanning; (7) move wp-login.php to a custom URL; (8) disable file editing in the WordPress dashboard (add define DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT, true to wp-config.php); (9) set correct file permissions (755 for directories, 644 for files); (10) schedule daily automated backups to an off-site location.
Install a monitoring service (UptimeRobot free tier covers most requirements) to alert you within minutes of downtime. Wordfence emails alerts on login anomalies and file changes. If your site is compromised, restore from a clean backup rather than attempting to clean the infection manually — infections are rarely fully removed without a clean restore.
Core security updates for the CMS, plugins and server should be applied weekly or immediately when a critical patch is released. A monthly maintenance schedule is the minimum for most business sites.
TPR Media operates from Level 34, 1 Eagle Street, Brisbane City QLD 4000, serving clients across Brisbane and Australia-wide.
TPR Media explains WordPress security hardening for Australian businesses: the three most common attack vectors (outdated plugins, brute force, weak passwords), the 10-step hardening process prioritised by impact, and the monitoring and backup approach for rapid incident recovery.