Hello,
1) Read this article https://kinsta.com/blog/wordpress-security-plugins/ to find the most suitable for you plugin.
2) Could you, please, explain in more detail your issue? I checked the admin panel and don’t see issue with the featured image http://prntscr.com/w8ivmo http://prntscr.com/w8iw7h http://prntscr.com/w8iwm1
Regards