Monitoring Blocked Requests and Security Threats in WordPress

Every blocked request tells a story. Monitoring what your security stops reveals the threats targeting your site and helps validate that your protections are working correctly.

Why Monitor Blocked Requests?

Validate Protection

Confirm your security is actually working:

• See attacks being stopped
• Verify correct rule triggering
• Confirm coverage of attack types

Identify False Positives

Find legitimate traffic being blocked:

• Real users incorrectly flagged
• Legitimate bots blocked
• Overly aggressive rules

Understand Threats

Learn what's targeting your site:

• Attack types and frequency
• Attacker sophistication
• Target priorities

Types of Blocked Requests

IP-Based Blocks

• Manual blacklist: IPs you've blocked
• Threat intelligence: Known bad IPs
• Auto-block: Triggered by behavior
• Country blocking: Geographic restrictions

WAF Blocks

• SQL injection: Database attack attempts
• XSS: Script injection attempts
• File inclusion: Path traversal attacks
• Bad bots: Known malicious user agents

Authentication Blocks

• Rate limiting: Too many requests
• Brute force protection: Failed login limits
• Lockouts: Temporary access denial

Analyzing Block Data

Key Metrics

• Block volume: Total blocked requests over time
• Block types: Distribution by category
• Top blocked IPs: Most frequent attackers
• Geographic distribution: Attack origins

Patterns to Look For

• Sudden spikes: New attack campaigns
• Persistent IPs: Dedicated attackers
• Targeting patterns: What URLs are hit
• Time patterns: When attacks occur

WP Folder Shield Block Monitoring

Block Log Dashboard

• Real-time blocked request stream
• Filtering and search
• Export capabilities
• Historical analysis

Block Analytics

• Charts showing block trends
• Category breakdown
• Geographic heatmap
• Top attacker list

Actions from Logs

• Whitelist false positives
• Permanently block persistent attackers
• Block entire IP ranges
• Adjust rules based on patterns

Best Practices

Regular Review

Check block logs weekly at minimum. Daily during active threats.

Investigate Anomalies

Unusual patterns warrant deeper investigation.

Clean Up Logs

Set appropriate retention to prevent database bloat.

Act on Intelligence

Use block data to strengthen defenses.

Get WP Folder Shield for comprehensive blocked request monitoring and threat analysis.