Security

Security is another critical concern when choosing an enterprise CMS platform, as vulnerabilities can lead to data breaches, reputational damage, and significant financial losses.On the security front, AEM vs WordPress comes down to selecting the solution that best aligns with your company’s security requirements and long-term digital strategy as both solutions prioritize security.

Security in AEM

Adobe Experience Manager is a proprietary platform, meaning it’s managed by Adobe’s internal team when it comes to security.

An example of a security update from Adobe

For example, on June 11, 2024, Adobe released a critical update for AEM to fix potential issues that could let hackers run malicious code or gain unauthorized access. Learn more about it here.

The limitation of AEM’s closed-source nature

While AEM benefits from Adobe’s centralized security control, it’s closed-source, meaning only Adobe can audit and fix vulnerabilities, which can sometimes be limiting for external experts.

Security in WordPress

WordPress does things a bit differently. It’s open-source, meaning anyone in the community – developers, security experts, anyone, can help identify and fix vulnerabilities. This community effort means security issues are often found and patched quickly.

Open-source security: Does transparency equal safety?

It’s a common concern for businesses to wonder if open-source platforms like WordPress can meet security standards. Questions often arise about whether openly accessible code makes these platforms more vulnerable to data breaches. However, the reality is quite the opposite. Open-source platforms can offer stronger security. Here’s why:

• Security patches are released regularly to address potential threats.
• Since the code is open to the public, it’s reviewed by thousands of developers and security experts worldwide. This collective oversight ensures potential vulnerabilities are spotted and fixed faster than in closed systems.
• Tools like Wordfence and Patchstack make securing WordPress sites even easier by providing features like real-time monitoring, malware scanning, and automatic vulnerability management.

What’s more, WordPress has a dedicated security team that actively works to monitor and improve the platform. They review code developers contribute, ensuring it meets high-security standards before it’s released in updates.

So, while open-source platforms might initially seem risky, WordPress’s transparent development process and robust community support make it a secure choice for businesses.

An example of an agile security update from WordPress

WordPress released version 6.5.5 on June 21, 2024 (within 20 days of launching version 6.5.4). This update fixed several security problems, like:

• Preventing SQL injection attacks that could expose sensitive data.
• Fixing Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) risks to protect user data.
• Improving password hashing to make user accounts more secure.

This version also made the REST API more secure and reliable, which is great for anyone using WordPress as a headless CMS. Read more about it here.

These updates show how WordPress is committed to keeping things secure, and that it can move fast.

Security with managed hosting

Besides these, managed WordPress hosting solutions like WordPress VIP offer enterprise-grade security. With these solutions, you get everything from continuous security monitoring, code scanning, and secure networking to edge protection. WordPress VIP enterprise users, in fact, often cite its robust security features as one of the platform’s key strengths.