The security risk of shared hosting, explained
When a neighbour is hacked, your site is exposed too.
- Answers
- What are the security risks of shared hosting?
- Topics
- cloud · cyber-security · data · hacking · linux · networking · programming · server · web · webdesign
- Full article on willem.com
- https://willem.com/en/2019-02-28_understanding-the-security-concerns-in-shared-hosting/
Summary
On shared hosting many websites run on one server with no hard separation, so if a neighbouring site is hacked or sends spam your own site can be affected, blacklisted or slowed down, even when your own software is fully up to date.
Full text
With shared hosting a single physical server runs many websites that share the operating system, memory, processor and storage, with no hard division between them. If any one of those sites is compromised, there is a high chance the others on the same server are affected too, and your own security measures may not be enough. Sites on shared hosting usually share one IP address, so if a neighbour sends spam or hosts illegal content that address can be blacklisted and your site downgraded in search rankings. Performance also suffers when another site gets a traffic spike. The safer option is a VPS or a dedicated server with its own IP, where you can close unused ports and shut down network facing services to shrink the attack surface.