Will you be providing FTP access to the site like last time?

No. Unfortunately we won’t be able to provide you with the FTP due to security reasons. Reason being that we have over 60 FTP connections to the shambhala.org server and there are lots of code on shambhala.org that isn’ t secure. We also have a tunnel running from that server to the SDB where all our precious data is held. The Shambhala server team has been suggesting quite heavily to improve server security as we have been hacked a few times the last few years. We have been lucky so far ,but there is a huge hole to patch. The main patch is to revoke FTP access for all centres. Of course we can’t do that now as then none of them would be able to access their sites. So the switch to the 2.0 WordPress sites is where we are making that transition happen.

The final plan is that the new 2.0 sites will all be in a multi site install (on the shambhala network) and that no centre will be able to install any plugs-ins as they wish. There are many shady plugins out there that seriously compromise security for the entire system, not only other centres websites but also the SDB participant data. So there is a plan in place that if a centre would like to install a plug in,they could apply to the IT team to have it reviewed and installed. Perhaps then that might benefit other centres in the mandala.

Posted in: 5. Transitioning to a new site