Attack on Your IONOS Contract: What It Means and Why It Matters

May 30, 2025

Attack on Your IONOS Contract?

If you’ve received an alarming email from IONOS with the subject line “Attack on Your IONOS Contract”, you’re not alone — and it’s not necessarily phishing scam. It’s part of a recent security initiative by IONOS to actively scan and disable compromised files on customer webspaces.

 

While it’s good that IONOS is stepping up protection, it can catch site owners off guard. One day your site is running fine — the next, it’s broken, and you’re wondering what happened.

Here’s what’s really going on.

What Does “Attack on Your IONOS Contract” Actually Mean?

This message typically means IONOS detected a malicious or suspicious file uploaded to your website. Commonly, these files are uploaded by automated bots exploiting known vulnerabilities in:

  • Outdated WordPress plugins

  • Outdated themes

  • Old or abandoned Click & Build installations

  • Weak admin credentials

Rather than waiting for you to discover the issue, IONOS now proactively disables the infected file — which can stop your site from loading properly.

⚠️ Why This Happens: Set-and-Forget WordPress Sites

Many WordPress users operate on a “set and forget” basis. The site is built once, and then years go by without:

  • Plugin or theme updates

  • WordPress core updates

  • Regular security scans

This creates a perfect target for automated attacks. Once a vulnerability is known, attackers mass-scan hosting providers like IONOS for unpatched sites — and that’s when trouble starts.

🛠️ Our Solution: Managed WordPress Hosting

At Black Sheep Support, we offer Managed WordPress Hosting to stop problems like this before they start.

Here’s what we include:

  • ✅ WordPress core, plugin, and theme updates

  • ✅ 24/7 security scanning and file integrity checks

  • ✅ Daily backups in case of rollback needs

  • ✅ Ongoing performance and uptime monitoring

  • ✅ Hardened server environments to reduce risk

Attack on Your Ionos Contract

🐑 Don’t Get Flocked by Surprise Threats

Whether it’s IONOS, Google, or another provider — security threats aren’t slowing down. Hosts are rightly stepping in to protect their infrastructure, but unless your site is kept up-to-date and secure, you’re still exposed — and your business could pay the price.

💬 Need Help?

If you’ve received the “Attack on Your IONOS Contract” email or suspect your WordPress site has been compromised, we can help.

Contact us today to discuss securing your site or moving to a fully managed WordPress solution.

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What does the “Attack on Your IONOS Contract” email actually mean?

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This email means IONOS has detected and disabled a file on your hosting space that appears to be malicious. It’s not a phishing email — it’s part of their security monitoring. These files are often uploaded by hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in outdated WordPress installations.

Why did my website break after IONOS removed a file?

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If the file that was disabled was part of your WordPress theme or plugin, your site may stop working properly. Hackers often inject malware into files like functions.php, style.php, or theme files — so when IONOS disables them, parts of your site can break.

How did the malicious file get into my website?

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In most cases, the file is uploaded by bots exploiting outdated plugins, themes, or WordPress core files. Sites that aren’t actively maintained are easy targets, especially if admin accounts use weak passwords or there are leftover demo installations like Click & Build.

What can I do to stop this from happening again?

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The most effective way to prevent this is to keep your site fully up to date. That means:

  • Regular updates to WordPress core, themes, and plugins

  • Using reputable plugins and themes only

  • Running regular security scans

  • Limiting admin access and using strong passwords
    Or, even easier — use a Managed WordPress Hosting service like ours, where we take care of all of this for you.

I’ve received this warning — can you help fix my site?

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Absolutely. Whether your site is down or just acting strange, we can help assess the damage, clean it up, and restore full functionality. We’ll also advise on how to protect your site moving forward — or migrate you to our managed hosting for complete peace of mind.