As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, securing your CMS is essential. Kentico stands out with its proactive security measures, including rapid bug fixes, robust access controls, and a commitment to transparency. But security isn’t just about technology; it’s a shared responsibility between platforms, agencies, and businesses. In this expert roundtable, industry leaders discuss best practices and how to make the most of Kentico’s security capabilities.
CMS platforms are prime targets for cybercriminals–with valuable customer data, proprietary content, and critical business operations at stake., these platforms are tempting targets for attackers. High-profile breaches in recent years show just how vulnerable these systems can be:
The MOVEit breach (2023/4): Hackers exploited a vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer software, impacting organizations like the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and exposing sensitive personal health information, highlighting the risk of interconnected systems, where one weak link can lead to widespread compromise.
The British Museum breach (2025): Unauthorized access to sensitive internal data disrupted the museum’s systems, highlighting that even cultural institutions handling visitor and membership data are vulnerable. This attack also underscored internal security risks, such as weak access controls and the potential for insider threats.
WordPress third-party plugin (2025): Over 1,000 WordPress sites were compromised through malicious JavaScript injections, leading to the installation of four backdoors that granted persistent attacker access. This attack highlights the risks of vulnerable plugins and underscores the importance of regular security updates, monitoring, and strong CMS protections.
These incidents emphasize the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures. As digital operations expand, ensuring secure connections across all systems—from CMS platforms to third-party tools—is more important than ever.
“As CMS platforms become prime targets for cybercriminals, the risks are growing fast. With businesses focusing on delivering personalized digital experiences, security becomes even more critical. The more data we collect to create tailored content, the more valuable it becomes to hackers. Kentico prioritizes securing both user data and personalized experiences, constantly updating its platform to stay ahead of threats while ensuring safe, customized interactions.”
Up-to-date technology is essential
“With increasingly sophisticated cyber threats on the rise, CMS security is more critical than ever. Migrating from legacy platforms, such as DNN or those no longer supported, is therefore essential. As technology ages, vulnerabilities become more frequent, and issuing timely security updates becomes more challenging.”
Outdated systems often lack critical patches and can be vulnerable to newer threats. Regularly upgrading your technology not only improves performance but also ensures you're protected from the latest security risks, minimizing the chances of exploitation.
Choose a consolidated CMS
“Security is especially relevant today due to the prevalent use of open-source CMS solutions on the market. These platforms often rely on a myriad of custom integrations and plugins, which, while enhancing functionality, can introduce significant security vulnerabilities and increase management overhead. Kentico addresses many of these challenges by offering a robust, integrated platform with a strong emphasis on security.”
A unified, integrated product is far more secure than one built on a patchwork of third-party tools. With Kentico, all essential tools (like content management, personalization, email marketing, and SEO) are under a single roof, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities that can arise from external plugins or extensions. A consolidated product means fewer points of entry for attackers and a more streamlined security approach.
“With the introduction of Xperience by Kentico's SaaS platform, customers can be even more confident in the security of the platform and its underlying infrastructure. Kentico SaaS's 24/7/365 support and robust SLAs offer a new level of proactive security that many other CMS platforms lack. The fact that Kentico maintains multiple best in class security certifications and publishes their policies transparently in the Kentico Trust Center adds even more reassurance for potential and current customers.”
Security thrives in an environment of trust and transparency. Kentico upholds this by being clear about its security practices, certifications, and policies. The Kentico Trust Centre provides customers with easy access to compliance information, such as GDPR, SOC 2, and ISO 27001, ensuring peace of mind for those who rely on the platform.
Continuous security updates
“Kentico maintains robust protection by regularly releasing security updates, performing vulnerability assessments, and implementing OWASP Top 10 secure coding practices. The platform is continuously monitored and updated to address emerging threats, ensuring that potential vulnerabilities are minimized. As a customer of Kentico, applying these regular updates is critical to keeping sites updated, secured, and protected. It’s the most important step anyone can take. Security is not a one-and-done type of activity, it takes constant upkeep. You should plan for it.”
The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and so are the threats. Kentico regularly releases security updates to address vulnerabilities and ensure that ourits platform is protected against emerging risks. Applying these updates is essential to keeping your CMS environment safe and secure.
“Kentico prioritises security. Few platforms offer a seven-day bug fixing policy, but Kentico does. When a bug is reported, it is promptly investigated, with a commitment to releasing a hotfix within seven business days providing peace of mind for everyone.”
In cybersecurity, speed matters. The longer a vulnerability remains unpatched, the greater the risk of exploitation. That’s why Kentico prioritizes rapid response, committing to investigating reported issues immediately and, when necessary, delivering a hotfix within seven business days. This fast turnaround minimizes exposure to threats and ensures businesses can operate with confidence, knowing their CMS is continuously protected against emerging risks.
“Based on our experience as a long-term Kentico partner, the platform has a strong track record of rapidly releasing patches to address reported vulnerabilities, ensuring it stays protected against emerging threats.”
Protect against internal threats
“Data breaches, whether caused by cybercriminals or, in some cases, malicious employees (as seen in the British Museum breach), highlight the need for robust access and authentication controls. Kentico provides essential tools to protect your organisation’s reputation by safeguarding both content editors and staff exit processes.”
While external cybercriminals pose a significant risk, internal threats can be just as damaging. Malicious insiders or careless users can compromise your CMS security. Kentico helps protect against these threats with strong access controls, multi-factor authentication, and role-based user management, ensuring that only authorized users have access to sensitive data.
“Kentico’s support for best practices gives us confidence that industry-standard security measures are in place. Features like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based access control (RBAC) allow us to follow best practices for user management, and meet compliance obligations whilst adding extra layers of protection.”
CMS security: A joint effort
“Security isn't just Kentico's responsibility, agencies must also ensure their website code is well maintained and up to date. Staying on the latest LTS version of .NET is crucial, as it not only provides performance improvements but also includes security fixes. Additionally, keeping third-party packages updated is essential. Tools like Dependabot can help automate this process, check out this guide for more details.”
Security isn’t solely the responsibility of the CMS provider—it’s a shared effort between the platform, the agency building the website, and the company that owns it. Kentico provides a secure foundation, but agencies must ensure proper implementation, and businesses must actively maintain security best practices. This includes keeping software up to date, managing user access responsibly, and fostering a security-conscious culture within their organization.
“Kentico is ISO 27001 security certified and adheres to OWASP secure development principle, and as such undergoes regular security testing and code reviews, ensuring rapid response to any identified vulnerabilities. This means that, although security will always be a joint responsibility between client and vendor, much of the heavy lifting has been done.”
Full throttle security
“To achieve the most robust secure implementation, we recommend enabling as many of Kentico’s optional security features as possible. Strong authentication, secure headers, and access restrictions all contribute to a well-protected environment. By fully utilising these capabilities, we can significantly reduce the surface area for attack and ensure websites remain secure.”
Kentico’s full security capabilities provide everything you need to secure your CMS, from encryption and multi-factor authentication to secure headers and advanced access controls. It also includes automatic security updates, role-based permissions, content approval workflows, activity logging, and DDoS protection when using its SaaS hosting. To fully protect your website, make sure you’re utilizing all available security features, monitoring for threats, and adopting a proactive approach to digital protection.
Security as a discipline
“Security isn’t a switch you flip—it’s a discipline you maintain. Kentico builds strong defences with authentication layers, encryption, and real-time monitoring, but the real risk isn’t just external threats—it’s internal complacency. The best way to stay secure? Treat every user, every update, and every access point as a decision that matters. Patch vulnerabilities before they’re problems. Limit access before it’s exploited. Make security a habit, not a reaction. Because trust isn’t just built by preventing breaches—it’s built by proving, every day, that you take protection seriously.”
Security isn’t a one-time task—it’s an ongoing discipline. Kentico encourages a culture of continuous monitoring, regular updates, and constant vigilance. Treat security as a daily practice, not just a reaction to incidents, and you’ll build a strong defense against potential cyber threats.
A strong security strategy
As cyber threats continue to evolve, securing your CMS is essential. A strong security strategy requires the right platform, the right practices, and the right mindset. Kentico provides a secure foundation with built-in protections, but staying ahead of threats means taking a proactive approach.
Want to dive deeper into best practices for protecting your digital experiences? Download our ebook, Security-first marketing, today to ensure your CMS is built to withstand modern threats.
