Maybe it hasn’t, yet. But the possibilities of it happening are very real.
In the past week, we’ve seen this happen to two businesses because they were not up-to-date. (Side note: Don’t freak out about WordPress. If maintained properly WordPress is a safe and reliable platform.) A partner called and asked us to look into their clients’ website because it appeared to be down. After taking a look, it turned out it was hacked by a virus spreading through the server where it was hosted. Because the site was infected, there was no way to back it up and move it without spreading the virus. The server will be wiped, and along with it the website.
This business didn’t have a back-up of their site. Content, gone. Images, gone. Even worse that they have no web presence while they find money in their budget to rebuilt.
If you’re a small business, you may not be prepared for a costly attack.
Depending on the severity of the hack your site could be gone forever, leaving you with the cost of rebuilding. Where do you even start? Do you have a back-up of your website? What about all of those amazing blog posts that you’ve poured countless hours into perfecting?
YOU NEED A PLAN.
- First, make sure your WordPress is up-to-date.
- Then make sure you’re website is backed-up regularly.
- If you don’t know how to do either, don’t panic. Talk to your website designer or developer. They will be able to assist you.