Robert Abela

In this episode of the Pressidium 3Q Interview, Christos Paloukas sits down with Robert Abela, the CEO and Founder of Melapress (formerly WP White Security). 🛡️ Robert shares his 13-year journey from fixing motherboards and monitors in Malta to building some of the most popular security plugins for WordPress, including WP Activity Log and WP 2FA. 🚀 KEY TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE: • The origin story: From a part-time hobby to a team of seven. • Engineering a roadmap: Why Robert still triages support tickets every morning. • The 80/20 Rule: How to keep security software powerful but user-friendly. • The Future: Passkeys, custom roles, and focusing on quality over quantity. TIMESTAMPED HIGHLIGHTS: 0:00 - Introduction and Robert’s journey from Malta to the Netherlands. 12:30 - The switch from systems engineering to WordPress security. 15:45 - Building the first version of WP Activity Log. 22:10 - Robert's philosophy on user-friendly product management. 28:40 - Future plans for Melapress and the 2FA landscape. Learn more about Pressidium EDGE and Pressidium Managed WP Hosting: pressidium.com Explore Melapress security solutions: melapress.com Get in touch with Robert: 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertabela/ 👉 Like, share, and subscribe to support WordPress community growth! #WordPress #CyberSecurity #B2B #DevOps #Pressidium

Hailey Ciantar, EU Bioeconomy Youth Ambassador, sits down with the Prime Minister of Malta, Robert Abela, for a focused discussion on Malta’s approach to the bioeconomy. This episode is in Maltese.

So today we're talking about security, but not what you might expect. This episode is not about the features which are in a WordPress security plugin. This is about the very nature of hacking and the issues that face us all online. What do people do hacking at all? It's a pretty reasonable question! It's now simply assumed that the internet can be a dangerous place; your details could be stolen, your website could be hacked. But why? What's in it for the hackers? Robert Abela is on the podcast today to discuss this and many other topics, and it's a really interesting chat? What security posture should you adopt based upon what you do. It's somewhere between 'do nothing' and 'live in a bunker'! What software is out there which might be worth looking into for all your security needs, and what resources does Robert recommend if you discover that you're curious to learn more? Check out the podcast...

So today we\'re talking about security, but not what you might expect. This episode is not about the features which are in a WordPress security plugin. This is about the very nature of hacking and the issues that face us all online. What do people do hacking at all? It\'s a pretty reasonable question! It\'s now simply assumed that the internet can be a dangerous place; your details could be stolen, your website could be hacked. But why? What\'s in it for the hackers? Robert Abela is on the podcast today to discuss this and many other topics, and it\'s a really interesting chat? What security posture should you adopt based upon what you do. It\'s somewhere between \'do nothing\' and \'live in a bunker\'! What software is out there which might be worth looking into for all your security needs, and what resources does Robert recommend if you discover that you\'re curious to learn more? Check out the podcast...

So today we're talking about security, but not what you might expect. This episode is not about the features which are in a WordPress security plugin. This is about the very nature of hacking and the issues that face us all online. What do people do hacking at all? It's a pretty reasonable question! It's now simply assumed that the internet can be a dangerous place; your details could be stolen, your website could be hacked. But why? What's in it for the hackers? Robert Abela is on the podcast today to discuss this and many other topics, and it's a really interesting chat? What security posture should you adopt based upon what you do. It's somewhere between 'do nothing' and 'live in a bunker'! What software is out there which might be worth looking into for all your security needs, and what resources does Robert recommend if you discover that you're curious to learn more? Check out the podcast...

So today we're talking about security, but not what you might expect. This episode is not about the features which are in a WordPress security plugin. This is about the very nature of hacking and the issues that face us all online. What do people do hacking at all? It's a pretty reasonable question! It's now simply assumed that the internet can be a dangerous place; your details could be stolen, your website could be hacked. But why? What's in it for the hackers? Robert Abela is on the podcast today to discuss this and many other topics, and it's a really interesting chat? What security posture should you adopt based upon what you do. It's somewhere between 'do nothing' and 'live in a bunker'! What software is out there which might be worth looking into for all your security needs, and what resources does Robert recommend if you discover that you're curious to learn more? Check out the podcast...

This episode James and Jean are joined by Robert Abela, an EU based freelance IT consultant and WordPress Security Professional with WP White Security. Robert is a major player in advocacy for WordPress security, and owns the No. 1 WordPress Monitoring & Audit Trail Plugin. Additionally, aside from his own security blog, Robert is also a guest blogger on many web-security blogs and websites. Topics Include: Robert’s journey with WordPress. It all started as a hobby. Robert developed on the side, but never considered himself a developer. At the same time he had a WordPress security consultancy business. He began working with a friend, but development was sporadic. After searching on a shoestring budget, Robert started working with a part-time dev. Started his premium add-on model. A multitude of competitor plugins were launched. His developer saw this as a sign of defeat and jumped ship. To make things worse, competitors knew popular people in the community and received a lot of coverage. Down but not out, Robert considered pulling the plug. Unstable sales resulted in a personal lost of $8,000 in the first year. Obligated to increase the sales – Robert sought to expose the add-ons without “in your face” advertising. His execution resulted in increased revenue, sales, and popularity. $30+k revenue this year. WP Security Audit Log is now the Number 1 plugin amongst its competitors (in terms of active downloads). Lessons learned: Never give up, but be realistic! Numbers/statistics are a good indication of how successful your product will be. Keep an eye on the competition, though don’t let that hold back a good idea or plan. It’s important to be first on the market, but it’s not the end of the world if you’re not. Success is not easy! If it were easy, everyone would be successful. The Plugin/Security: Hardening Blocking (firewalls, etc.) Control (privileges/permissions) Logging Keeping a watchful eye. Easing the process of troubleshooting. Detecting possible attack attempts. Doing forensics work in the unfortunate case of a hack cleanup. Featured on the Show: WP WhiteSecurity WP Security Audit Log Ninja Demo