The risks of ignoring CMS security and how to mitigate them
3 Mar 2023
Almost every business has adopted CMS to some degree. Where technology leads, cyber threats will follow, so CMS security faces some significant dangers.
We've previously written about the impact of headless CMS on website security, and this article will explore the benefits of using BCMS as a secure CMS for your website.
BCMS is a headless open-source content management system emerging as one of the most secure CMS platforms on the market. As a result of its headless architecture, open code, and ability to adapt to the client's needs, BCMS can overcome the most common vulnerabilities, ensuring CMS security.
To understand the security difference between BCMS and WordPress (the most used traditional CMS out there), you need to understand how they work.
WordPress allows content creators to create and publish styled templates. The content is stored in a database and displayed to the end user based on this predefined template.
Wordpress' PHP application pulls raw data from the MySQL database and pushes it to the theme. A theme then converts the content into HTML and styles it based on CSS. There is a close relationship between the front and back ends.
Besides having predefined templates, there are a lot of third-party plugins that give WordPress various functionalities. However, they also raise security risks to new heights.
Relying too much on third-party plugins can seriously hurt your site's performance and security. Plugin vulnerabilities pose a big problem because the plugin's creator must patch them immediately.
Furthermore, users must ensure they are up-to-date to be adequately protected. Because of all these factors, it is not surprising that WordPress sites get hacked most often.
A headless BCMS is a bit different. Under the pure headless CMS architecture, BCMS delivers content through a CDN, not a database. Front-end and back-end separation focus on content creation and storage, with little or no control over the front end.
Moreover, BCMS uses APIs to publish read-only content. As it is protected behind multiple layers of code—perhaps an application layer and a security layer—it is even less vulnerable to attacks because security is tighter.
We at BCMS know that information is one of today's most valuable assets. However, protecting information (in this case, content) is becoming more and more challenging because, as technology develops, cyberattacks become more sophisticated and increasingly dangerous. Therefore, we paid extra attention to security matters and left nothing to chance.
A holistic, cloud-based cybersecurity BCMS solution helps businesses quickly and easily increase their security posture and address critical vulnerabilities by providing effective data classification, protection, and access strategies to secure even the most sensitive data.
The three most important things regarding the flu or decreased immunity are prevention, detection, and correction. The same applies to cybersecurity.
BCMS combines those three layers to protect your personal information and keep your business data private. Throughout the process, it demonstrates how safe you are.
Business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) are two sides of the same coin. These two strategies enable your business or website to work smoothly even when it becomes the target of a cyberattack.
Business continuity focuses on keeping organizations operational during a disaster, while disaster recovery focuses on restoring data access and IT infrastructure after an incident.
BCMS separates the back-end administration of information from the front-end, visually focused presentation. Therefore, content managed by a headless BCMS can be adapted to any BCDR strategy. With a headless BCMS, you won't have to worry about your content becoming trapped within your CMS.
The EU and the US are implementing rigorous legislation to combat cyberattacks and enhance CMS security. Trading in these regions requires additional regulatory requirements on top of existing regulations, and compliance has never been more critical.
To win this battle, BCMS offers the following features:
API management - Schemas establish relationships between operational data, transactional data, and documentation to enable discoverability and analytics in a headless CMS
Backups
Auto-scaling features
Custom workflows - BCMS enables you to set up rules and processes to ensure regulatory accuracy
ISO 27001-certified for third-party providers and data centers
Version control - BCMS allows non-technical users to manage changes and complete version control in development. Existing compliance models can be cloned or branched when updated data and documentation requirements change due to changing legislation. This is because developers can make the necessary changes to schemas to meet a specific compliance requirement.
Data encryption
API security policies (custom origin policies and IP firewalls)
Custom roles and permissions
GDPR and EU-US Privacy Shield compliance
Audit logs
Single Sign-On (SSO)
To understand how BCMS improves security, you need to be aware of the biggest cybersecurity challenges:
Secure hybrid workplaces – A hybrid working environment seems to be the future. To ensure secure remote access to systems and applications, organizations must provide it to all employees, not only those traditionally mobile, as well as their suppliers and contractors.
Regulatory requirements – Organizations must enforce appropriate controls to secure critical infrastructure and personal data, whether they are headquartered in the US, the EU, or elsewhere. Businesses need to modernize their cybersecurity practices and policies to meet these mandates.
Secure multi-cloud deployments – Cloud-first enterprises must deploy various security measures to effectively secure their data distributed across multiple cloud platforms and applications. As a complement to protecting and controlling their data, companies need cloud-agnostic solutions to meet the demands of the shared responsibility model.
Reduce the risk of data breaches - Attackers increasingly use advanced techniques to bypass access controls on cloud-based data. All companies should retain control over their access policies and encryption keys even as they benefit from the cloud and its features. They should also provide multi-factor authentication across their workforce, including those operating in complex environments.
Now let’s see what makes BCMS a security fortress:
SaaS platforms like BCMS manage their own security with platform updates.
BCMS is updated automatically when a new release is available. BCMS follows the server, meaning all minor, major, and security releases will automatically be updated. This also includes system patches, hosting, and extension updates, which are crucial for maintaining security.
This type of managed security can bring significant boosts to website efficiency. Functions like CMS security, patching, and updates are handled by the service provider (in this case, BCMS).
Another benefit is that headless platforms are highly flexible; if you need new features or content, it is relatively easy to implement the changes without disrupting your users.
Upgrades, security patches, and updates are easier to test and implement when limited to one platform (BCMS) rather than the entire store.
Migration to BCMS has a lot of benefits. Separating the content database from the content delivery results in various advantages:
Because a headless CMS hosts all written content in one place, that content can be deployed easily and quickly if you run multiple websites and platforms.
There are constant information changes. Headless BCMS allows you to update content in one place and apply those changes everywhere.
You can provide seamless content syndication to your clients using a headless CMS. API calls will eliminate the need to copy, paste, and modify your content.
By integrating with a diverse range of technology stacks and frontend frameworks, Headless CMS enables developers to leverage the tools and technologies they prefer.
Learn more:
BCMS - Headless CMS for NextJS
BCMS - Headless CMS for Nuxt
BCMS - Headless CMS for Gatsby
Modern web application security relies heavily on API security. Some APIs may be vulnerable due to bugs in authentication and authorization, insufficient rate limits, or code injection. APIs must be regularly tested to identify vulnerabilities and addressed using security best practices.
BCMS is based on a REST API and has proven practices to ensure a robust and secure REST API implementation, such as the following:
Implementing authentication
Using TLS
Having validated API parameters
Implementing content types
Supporting restrictive access
CDN security protects against attacks and threats that want to impact website visitors negatively. CDNs deliver content more securely through their network, enabling safer browsing. Your website visitors will benefit from this enhanced experience.
These are the main safety risks that a CDN can prevent:
A CDN must have specialized DDoS attack tools to protect your website.
CDNs handle sudden traffic spikes and network congestion, ensuring your website never goes down.
CloudFlare is an excellent DDoS protection -CloudFare CDN is dedicated to protecting against DDoS attacks and includes the following:
Specially designed PoPs that are made to absorb only DDoS traffic
Automatic traffic inspection and cleaning
24/7 monitoring that can prevent attacks from occurring
Origin IP address- Since CloudFlare is used as a proxy, it masks the IP address of the origin server.
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
A CDN with an effective WAF ensures adequate protection for any application. Using a WAF, internet traffic is filtered and monitored between a particular application and an origin server. Having an effective Web Application Firewall protects you against different types of threats right out of the box.
Applications in BCMS are segmented and scoped, but compromised applications do not result in compromised hosts.
Enhance SSL/TLS encryption
Encryption practices are essential to prevent hackers from accessing sensitive or confidential data. SSL certificates and keys are required for TLS to work. CDNs typically provide the key and certificate to secure content hosted on their network.
open-source, anyone can make changes if necessary. Being transparent and adaptable to changes means a quick reaction to vulnerabilities. Any change can be detected quickly and appropriately reacted to. Also, any attempted attack can be recognized, stopped, or repaired without major consequences. All of this significantly reduces the possibility of cyberattacks.
Common opinions about open-source vulnerabilities tend to imply that the languages used by open-source developers are less secure, but this is not necessarily true. Remember that website hacks generally occur due to vulnerabilities in plugins and themes, not the CMS software itself.
Cloud security measures are designed to protect data, applications, and infrastructure in cloud computing. These measures ensure data and resource access control, user and device authentication, and data privacy protection. Cloud security aims to protect a company's data from DDoS attacks, malware, hackers, and unauthorized users. The BCMS Cloud handles all user logins.
BCMS cloud security measures imply:
DigitalOcean security
With DigitalOcean, BCMS helps you protect your data, accounts, and workloads.
DigitalOcean data protection services provide:
Encryption capabilities
Key management
Traditional CMSs are vulnerable to security issues because they integrate front-end and back-end functionality, whereas headless BCMSs do not.
Headless BCMS avoids placing sensitive operational applications on public websites by separating content management from delivery. BCMS positively impacts CMS security since APIs make content management systems less susceptible to DDoS attacks.
Website security is a significant risk area for most companies, but BCMS is one of the safest CMSs. It makes your website load faster and improves the overall user experience. It has a user-friendly interface and automatically applies the best security and performance settings to your website.
The risks of ignoring CMS security can lead to many insecurities and vulnerabilities. No one wants to be vulnerable, so BCMS can be that unified solution that can reduce all overall obstacles regarding protection.
BCMS combats security in the following ways:
It keeps your website up-to-date
It uses different authentication measures
It is headless
It is an open-source
It is API-first
It is cloud-based
It follows regulations and standards
It is a platform for different kinds of website
It protects data
This comprehensive look into headless CMS security shows how your business can prevent data loss with BCMS backup and disaster recovery solutions. Don't waste any time; start building your empire with BCMS-one of the safest CMSs on the market.
Malware and attacks can infect websites, networks, and other IT infrastructures without proactive security measures. To protect sensitive data from hackers, CMS security is essential. CMS can be a security risk because it provides different means attackers can strike, such as plugins and separate login credentials.
Essential CMS features that empower website security:
Multi-factor authentication
Roles and permissions
API security features
DDoS protection
Auditing and monitoring
Ignoring CMS security can lead to the growth of vulnerabilities that can put your entire organization or business at risk.
Top 8 CMS security measures:
Use CDN
Use an open-source CMS
Avoid using a CMS that relies on third-party plugins
Use a CMS with fine-grained user permissions
Use strong passwords
Use two-factor authentication
Use a headless CMS
There are various things users can do to defend their systems from attacks. CMS will stay safe and secure if you:
Keep your CMS platform up-to-date
Review your CMS users and eliminate unnecessary ones
Use strong passwords
Have your security incident processes documented
Implement security measures such as encryption and access controls
Test and monitor for vulnerabilities
Use automated testing tools
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There are many actionable insights in this blog post. Learn more: