Monitoring Dictionary
Security audit
Definition
A security audit is a structured review of a site’s risks, misconfigurations, and recommended fixes.
Also called: WordPress security audit
Why it matters for WordPress
Gut feel is not a plan. An audit turns “we should be more secure” into a prioritized list: outdated plugins, weak roles, missing backups, open XML-RPC, and so on.
How it shows up in practice
- Checklists and scored security tests
- External reviews before a launch or after a breach
- Recurring monthly reviews for agency-managed sites
What to do
- Inventory software, users, and backups.
- Run automated tests, then verify anything that looks wrong.
- Fix high-impact issues first (admin access, known CVEs, missing backups).
- Re-run after changes so the report matches reality.
Feature: Security tests. Guide: WordPress security audit.
Go deeper
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This page stays short on purpose. The guide covers steps, examples, and what to check on a live WordPress site.
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Nearby ideas in the dictionary
- Vulnerability A vulnerability is a weakness in software that attackers can abuse to break confidentiality, integrity, or availability.
- Security hardening Hardening is the set of configuration and process changes that make a site harder to abuse.
- False positive A false positive is an alert that looks like a problem but turns out to be benign after review.