Developments in cyber security, and how to protect your WordPress website and other accounts

I know not everyone is following AI super closely, and I can’t blame you – it can feel overwhelming! But I wanted to share something very important that’s come up lately, that may affect you and your business.

Developments have taken place recently in the AI world that highlight a major need for all of us to take pro-active responsibility for our devices, accounts and data.

What’s happening?

In brief, Anthropic, the developer of Claude, a leading AI model, has announced that their “Mythos” model is one of the most powerful models developed to date, and that it has a particularly strong ability to find security vulnerabilities and break through them. This ability has already been demonstrated.

They are not releasing this model publicly – the plan is to release it to major government and corporate leaders first so they can secure their systems before others get their hands on this technology. This seems like a responsible plan.

Is this all a big marketing stunt? Possibly. Does this highlight a very real risk anyway? Absolutely.

The Big Problem

Very shortly after this announcement, it came out that Anthropic’s security around Mythos had already been breached, and the model had been accessed by unauthorized users, who came forward about it publicly.

There are two aspects to all of this that have me very concerned about security:

  • If those users had accessed Mythos so easily, it’s very possible that other more nefarious actors have already done the same.
  • Even though Anthropic seems to have good intentions for the use of this model, other organizations working on AI may not be far behind in developing similar technology. It may already exist in the hands of bad actors.

Why should I care?

I see a very real possibility that cyber attacks and security breaches of all kinds are about to massively accelerate. I hope I’m wrong!

People have been developing bots for years to attack WordPress sites and find their vulnerabilities. None of that is new. But we may soon find ourselves in a world where those bots are supercharged with the ability to find and exploit vulnerabilities on a scale we’ve never seen before.

It’s important to understand that no software can be 100% secure. New security gaps are found all the time, and patched as quickly as possible.

That is why your WordPress website, your computer, your phone, and other software you interact with constantly ask you to run updates. Most of the time we have no awareness of the underlying security issues. But these advancements in AI make it crucial for us to be aware of these risks and take steps to mitigate them.

There have also been warnings recently about a coming rise in hyper-personalized and convincing spam proliferation. Be prepared for your online data to be used to advertise to you in a way you’ve never seen before. Be aware that convincing videos and audio can be created replicating any person or voice, and can be used to deceive you.

I am not saying any of this to scare you. I just want people to be aware of these technologies, and the potential risks they pose!

What should I do?

I would highly recommend that you take steps to update your passwords, secure your accounts, and update your devices as soon as possible, and on a regular basis. Keeping your website’s software up to date is very important, but this also extends to every account and device you have.

There is no way to completely predict or defend against this, but some tips you can keep in mind are:

  • Run software updates on your devices as early as possible
  • Use unique passwords for all of your accounts – never re-use passwords. Re-using passwords means if one account is compromised – they all could be compromised.
  • Change passwords frequently, use longer passwords (minimum of 16 characters, but the more the better) and make them very complicated. Gibberish passwords with a variety of characters are way better than words and phrases.
  • Enable 2-factor authentication whenever possible. This is absolutely essential for email and financial accounts.
  • Raise your vigilance level about suspicious emails and potential spam to a “high alert” level. Never download files from untrusted sources. Be skeptical of suspicious phone calls and unsolicited offers.
  • Always feel free to reach out to me if you are unsure if something related to your website is legitimate.

What about my website?

The number one thing to do to secure your website is to make sure the software is up to date, so security vulnerabilities can be patched:

  • Update WordPress, and its plugins and themes at minimum on a weekly basis.
  • Ensure you have a security plugin like WordFence set up to monitor and scan your site.
  • Keep passwords unique, complex, and regularly updated.
  • Audit existing admin accounts to be sure they are all needed.
  • Remove any outdated or unsupported plugins (unsupported = new security vulnerabilities will not be patched = major security gap).
  • Ensure you are using a WordPress theme that receives regular updates.

If you are on one of my monthly maintenance plans, I’m already helping you with a number of these items.

Monthly Maintenance Plans

For those of you who are on a maintenance plan, I am going to be taking additional steps to help you keep your site safe:

  • Weekly software updates will be increased to 2x per week. If needed, I am willing to increase this further.
  • I will be performing a free, one-time audit of your plugins and admin accounts in the coming weeks, and making recommendations for increasing security if applicable.
  • If I notice potential security risks related to your website going forward, I will bring it up to you with potential solutions.

If you are not on a maintenance plan, you can certainly manage these things yourself. But I wanted you to be aware of the risks, so you can prioritize keeping your site secure.

It’s important to note that I can’t guarantee perfect safety for your site, particularly with rapidly evolving threats. But what I can offer is a commitment to keeping your site as secure as possible, and a rapid response in the event of any security breach.

If you’d like some help, it’s a great time to sign up if you’d like to have greater peace of mind! Contact me today to sign up for a maintenance plan, I am offering 33% off all plans until Friday, May 1st.