Introduction
Drupal is a powerful CMS platform that can be used to build magnificent websites. But just like any other software, Drupal has its share of security concerns. And if you don’t take precautions, it can put your business at risk by exposing sensitive data and making it susceptible to cyber attacks. The good news is that Drupal’s modular architecture gives site owners ample opportunity to add additional layers of security and privacy through smart implementation techniques. So here are some essential tips for achieving advanced security and data privacy on your Drupal site:
Conduct An Expert Audit
Conducting an expert audit is the best way to ensure that your Drupal site is secure and compliant with data privacy regulations. To conduct an audit, you will need to hire a third-party security expert who can provide you with recommendations for improving the security of your site.
The first step in conducting an expert audit is to identify all third-party services being used by your Drupal website (for example: Google Analytics or Facebook Login). Next, review these services’ terms of service agreements and privacy policies to see what they say about data collection, storage and sharing practices. If there are any concerns about how these third parties use personal information from visitors on your site then consider removing them completely from any pages that require login credentials such as blog posts or user registration forms. The goal here is not only ensuring compliance but also protecting visitors from having their personal information collected without their consent!
Once all third party services have been removed or disabled entirely then proceed onto implementing recommendations made by experts during earlier stages such as updating outdated versions PHP/MySQL software running behind Apache web servers running Linux distributions like Ubuntu 1604 LTS which should always be kept up-to-date whenever possible due its frequent releases containing patches designed specifically within each release date range.”
Re-assess Your System
To ensure your system is secure, you’ll want to perform regular audits. This can be done by either manually checking for vulnerabilities in your site or by using a security scanner. A good way to start is by running an automated scan on your Drupal site with the Sucuri Security Scanner (Sucuri), which will identify any issues that need addressing and provide recommendations for remediation. You can also use free tools like Open Web Application Security Project’s (OWASP) online database of known security flaws (OWASP).
Keep Your Drupal Site Up-to-Date
The most important step in securing your Drupal site is to keep it up-to-date. This ensures that you’re using the latest security patches and bug fixes, as well as being protected from known vulnerabilities.
Keep Your Site Up-to-Date with the Core Updates
The Drupal core team releases new versions of Drupal at least once a year, but sometimes more often than that depending on how many changes need to be made in order to fix bugs or add new features. You should always install these updates as soon as they become available because they often include fixes for critical vulnerabilities that could put your entire website at risk if left unpatched for too long!
Protect Your Network Infrastructure
- Ensure your network infrastructure is secure and protected from unauthorized access.
- Ensure your network infrastructure is protected from malware.
Use SSL
SSL is a secure protocol that encrypts traffic between the user and the server, preventing eavesdropping and other malicious attacks. It also prevents session hijacking, cookie hijacking, replay attacks and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks on your site.
The SSL handshake process allows both sides to authenticate themselves as legitimate entities before any sensitive information is transmitted or stored by either party.
Most importantly for Drupal developers: if you’re using Drupal’s built-in encryption mechanism then this step will be taken care of automatically!
Enable HTTPS for the whole site
Enabling HTTPS for the whole site is a good way to make sure that all of your users are protected. It’s also free, with no downsides. Here’s how:
- Go to [Drupal].
- Click on “Install”, then click on “New Site”.
- On the next screen, click on “Basic Site Information” and enter your site name in the field labeled “Site Name.” Then click Next (or continue if you’ve already installed Drupal before).
- On this screen, choose whether or not you want automatic updates; if so, check off those options before continuing through each step until reaching Step 7: Configuration Settings
Use Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication
Use Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication
It’s a good idea to use strong passwords, which are harder for hackers to crack. A strong password is at least 8 characters long, contains numbers and symbols, does not contain your own name or anyone else’s name (or similar words), and does not contain any real words that can be found in a dictionary.
Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security by requiring you to enter something extra when signing into your site–usually, a code sent via text message or app notification. You’ll need this code every time you log on after enabling two-factor authentication, so make sure no one has access to your phone!
Avoid The Use of Default Roles and Permissions
Using the default roles and permissions is not secure. To achieve advanced security and data privacy, it is important to change the default roles and permissions.
The following are examples of default roles and permissions that can be changed:
- The administrator has all permissions except “Administer content types.” This role should be renamed to something else (e.g., “Super Admin”) because it sounds like an administrator should have access to everything on your website but they don’t want anyone knowing they’re an administrator unless they’re trying to hack into your site or show off how powerful their computer skills are by breaking into yours!
- An editor has permission only for creating new pages but no other kind of content objects such as taxonomy terms or comments; this makes sense because editors shouldn’t have access rights beyond what’s needed for their job duties (i.e., creating new pages). However, if you do want them able to access other types of objects then just add another permission column called “Edit Any Content Object” where you can checkmark whether or not each type should be allowed editing privileges by Editors only (or whatever role name makes sense here).
Monitor file permissions and logins, as well as any changes made to the database.
Monitor file permissions and logins, as well as any changes made to the database.
Use a security monitoring tool to track all changes. This can be done by installing an application or script that will monitor your site and record everything that happens on it. This means you can see who’s logging in, what they’re doing and when they do it–and if anyone makes any changes to files or databases (including deleting them).
Encrypt sensitive data at rest
Encrypting sensitive data at rest is a good practice, and Drupal has several modules that can help you with this. The first step is to use an encryption algorithm like AES or Twofish to encrypt your passwords and other private information. If you want to go further, you can also encrypt the database itself using the Drupal Crypt module. This will ensure that even if someone gets access to your SQL server or backup files, they won’t be able to see anything but gibberish unless they have decrypted it first (or used brute force methods).
The second step involves using two separate modules: Passphrase and Drupal Password Hashing API (PHP-based). The former allows users on your site who know their own password but not its hash value (i.e., what it looks like after being encrypted by Drupal) to enter either one in order for them to not only access their accounts but also change their passwords later on to without having access issues again due to mismatched hashes between old/new passwords
Check your code for security vulnerabilities
Security scanners are a great way to find out whether or not your site has any security vulnerabilities. The only problem is that there are so many of them available and they all perform different types of scans, so it can be difficult to know which one is right for you.
In order to make sure that you’re using the best possible tool for the job, it’s important to do some research first. You should look into how often each scanner is updated with new vulnerability data–if it isn’t updated regularly, then chances are good that its detection capabilities will be limited compared with those offered by other tools on the market today (and even then these updates might not cover every potential threat). You should also check whether or not each scanner can find all types of vulnerabilities; if there are certain kinds of flaws that could compromise your website but aren’t covered by its detection system yet then they may go unnoticed until they’ve already done some damage! Finally: always double-check what results from these scans mean before making any changes based on them…you never want “fixing” something incorrectly just because someone told you it was broken when actually nothing was wrong in the first place!
Eliminate Unused Modules and Themes From Running on the Site.
It’s important to keep your Drupal site as lean and mean as possible. Unused modules and themes can introduce vulnerabilities into your environment, so it’s best to remove them if you no longer need them.
To check which modules are installed on your site, go to /admin/build/modules and click on “Installed” in the left-hand menu bar:
If you see any modules that aren’t currently being used by any pages on your website (or if they aren’t critical enough), uninstall them by clicking Uninstall next to each one. This will remove both codes from Drupal core files as well as database entries for those items, freeing up resources for other things like faster performance or improved security measures such as encryption keys or two-factor authentication systems such as Duo Security’s Two Factor Authentication Service
Avoid running outdated versions of PHP.
To avoid running outdated versions of PHP, you need to update your Drupal site’s database. This can be done by going to the “Database” tab and clicking on “Manage Database”. Once there, click on the “phpMyAdmin” link in the left-hand navigation bar.
Once inside phpMyAdmin, select all databases except for ‘phpbb_configuration’. Then click on “Go”. A list of all tables will appear with their current version numbers at the top right corner of each table row (e.g., [table_name] 5.6). If there are any outdated versions listed here (e.g., [table_name] 5.5), then you should update them immediately by clicking on ‘Upgrade’ next to each one–and confirm whether any data loss may occur before proceeding with this step!
Install the latest Drupal core version.
Upgrading to the latest stable version of Drupal Core is one of the most important things you can do to secure your site. The core software is where most of Drupal’s security flaws are found, so keeping it up-to-date helps ensure that you’re protected from known vulnerabilities.
Additionally, make sure all recommended modules are installed and enabled on your site (see below). This includes any modules that were installed automatically by another module or theme that you’ve enabled–for example, if you install a content type module like CKEditor or Paragraphs which includes its own editor field type(s), then those additional fields will also be added automatically without asking first (which may include insecure ones).
Last but not least: if upgrading doesn’t seem feasible at present due to either financial reasons or technical hurdles such as lack of expertise/time/resources needed for migration etc., then consider opting instead for migration offsite with help from experts such as us here at [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE].
You can make sure your Drupal site is secure and has strong data privacy by following these essential tips.
You can make sure your Drupal site is secure and has strong data privacy by following these essential tips.
- Secure your Drupal site with a strong password.
- Keep files private by using encryption, like GPG.
- Update core and contrib modules regularly to ensure they aren’t vulnerable to exploits or security flaws that have been found since they were last updated.
- Monitor file permissions and logins so you know when something suspicious happens on your website (like an unauthorized login attempt).
Conclusion
By following these tips, you can make sure your Drupal site is secure and has strong data privacy.
Lakshya Sharma
View More PostsDigital Marketing Lead
