I’m not saying it is inevitable or unavoidable, but web-based security threats are something you just cannot ignore if you own a website. You might say, hey – I have a website with content only – I have nothing to lose, right? Wrong. The hackers can get into your server and exploit it to send spam emails or any illegal files, to set up a temporary web server, using them as part of a botnet, etc. Nonetheless, if you have a website that handles critical customer information like their personal and financial data, you are in a bigger mess. With Drupal web development, you are minimizing your risks of getting hacked as Drupal prevents common critical security vulnerabilities and has proven to be a secure solution for small and large enterprises.
Today, millions of websites are powered by Drupal CMS – many of which are government websites, e-commerce stores, banking and financial institutions that need to be extra secured from the wild web. Drupal is largely known for the security it provides through its refined access controls, strong password encryptions, frequent security updates, highly expert security team, etc. That being said, you will still need to follow the security protocols to maintain safety of your Drupal website. So, what features makes Drupal CMS so secure?
The fact that it is Open-source
Drupal is the world’s largest open-source CMS platform where security and openness live in harmony. When you have a community of thousands of developers monitoring every development, a security threat cannot go un-noticed. As soon as a security issue is found, a security update is released.
Stringent Implementations
Any good Drupal developer can essentially turn into a Drupal CMS contributor and give back to the community some of their good work (read modules). But it really isn’t that simple as that would open too many back doors and security vulnerabilities. Every contributor has to go through a well-established process to become a trusted contributor. Not only that, each of their contributed modules have to be tested and approved by the core team members before being published for public usage.
The Proactive Formula
The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is a 501 © (3) world-wide non-profit organization that lays out security protocols and risks including a list of Top 10 security risks. This information is a very useful guide to web security and focuses on improving security of web applications. Drupal happens to meet all the standards of OWASP and addresses each of the Top 10 security risks identified by them.
Secure passwords
On installation, by default Drupal encrypts all passwords that are stored in the database. Furthermore, they are hashed multiple times which can avoid brute force and dictionary attacks. Contributed modules like Secure Login, Two-factor authentication, Password Policy, etc. can be used to beef up your security.
