In today's digital age, web applications are essential to businesses and organizations of all sizes. However, with the increased use of web apps comes a greater risk of cyber-attacks and data breaches. The web vulnerability is a growing problem for businesses worldwide – Over 8,000 vulnerabilities were published in Q1 of 2022. It takes less than five minutes and only requires a small investment.
Do you know how to protect your web asset's?
Just about every web app out there is at risk of being attacked. It's the reality of today's web world, but that doesn't mean you should be a victim.
In this blog post, we'll explain tips and tactics to help protect your site from attack.
Web Vulnerability: Common Web Vulnerabilities and Their Implications
The web vulnerability is a security hole that enables an attacker to gain unauthorized access to a website. It may result from misconfiguration, a coding error, or any other issue that allows an attacker to bypass security controls and access sensitive data.
Web vulnerabilities can be exploited in different ways:
● SQL Injection - Injects malicious SQL statements into an entry field to manipulate the database
● Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) - Inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users
● Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) - Tricks a user into performing an unintended action on a web application
● Broken Authentication and Session Management - Weak or improperly implemented authentication and session management can lead to unauthorized access
● File Inclusion - Includes files from a remote server to execute malicious code on the web application
● Remote Code Execution - The attacker runs arbitrary code on the server hosting the web application
● Broken Access Control - Improperly implemented access control can allow unauthorized users to access resources they shouldn't have access to
● Security Misconfiguration - Insecurely configured servers, frameworks, or applications can lead to vulnerabilities.
Shielding Your Web Apps: Essential Tips to Secure Your Web Applications Against Hackers
Real-time Vulnerabilities Scanning
You can scan every corner of your web application using a real-time vulnerability scan.
● Secure & Scan Your Web Asset: Scan any web application, web service, or web API, regardless of technology, framework, or language.
● More Coverage Means Less Risk: You can detect more vulnerabilities with combined DAST + IAST scanning.
● Build security into development Seamlessly: Reduce tension between development and security teams by helping developers handle security tasks independently.
● Fix vulnerabilities with less manual effort: Provide detailed documentation that pinpoints the exact locations of vulnerabilities to help developers resolve issues faster.
Once you've identified the vulnerabilities, it's time to fix them. To make your web app more secure, follow these steps:
Strict Input Validation and Output Encoding
This is one of the essential things when securing your web apps. Input validation ensures that all input data conforms to specific rules or patterns the developer defines for their application. Output encoding transforms data before sending it over an insecure protocol or medium like HTTP or email. This ensures that any malicious code cannot cause any damage to your application or its users' devices.
Use Secure Authentication Mechanisms
The first thing users see when visiting your website is the login page. Ensuring this page is secured with solid authentication mechanisms like two-factor authentication and password managers is essential. Many different authentication mechanisms are available today, and choosing one that suits your needs best is necessary.
Principle of Least Privilege
Using the principle of least privilege, a user should only have access to what they need to perform their job duties. Any application needs this step in order to be secured because it ensures that if someone does gain access, they can't do much damage. After all, they don't have access to sensitive information like passwords or personal data about customers or employees.
Network and Infrastructure Security
As a fundamental part of your application's security, you must ensure the network and infrastructure are secure. This includes keeping all software up-to-date and patching any known vulnerabilities. The most effective way to avoid attacks is by using a firewall and other security tools that prevent suspicious activity.
Regular Software Updates
It's also essential to ensure that all software used in your application has been updated regularly. This includes operating systems, databases, browsers, and even third-party libraries used by your application. For example, if a new version of jQuery fixes some bugs or adds new features, you should update it immediately to reduce the risk of hacker attacks such as cross-site scripting (XSS).
Secure Coding Practices
Developers need to be aware of security-related issues in coding languages like JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS3 to prevent these problems from happening in the first place. They should also use secure coding practices like avoiding open redirects, SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), etc. This will help them prevent security issues while developing web apps.
Proper Error Handling and Logging
Developers need to log all errors occurring during the execution of an application so that they can identify any possible security issues with the help of this information later on. Also, they should handle errors gracefully so as not to expose sensitive information about users or their websites when something goes wrong.
HTTPS Encryption
HTTPS encrypts all the traffic between your app and the server, protecting your users' information against man-in-the-middle attacks and eavesdropping by third parties like ISPs or governments who might try to snoop on traffic passing through their networks. HTTPS ensures no one can tamper with or modify requests or responses sent between your app and the server.
Security Awareness Training
Employees must understand how easily sensitive data can be accessed from their mobile devices — even if they don't realize it's happening. Employees should be reminded about best practices for password protection and given tips for spotting phishing attempts so they can avoid falling for them in the first place.
Enhancing Your Web Application Security: Leveraging SEMNet's Web Scanning Services to Detect and Mitigate Web Vulnerabilities
Securing your web applications against potential cyber-attacks and data breaches should be a top priority for any business or organization. By implementing the best practices for web application security, such as strict input validation, secure authentication mechanisms, and regular vulnerability scanning, you can significantly reduce the risk of being hacked.
However, even with these measures in place, it is still possible for web vulnerabilities to go undetected.
This is where SEMNet's web scanning services can help. By leveraging their advanced scanning tools and expertise, you can ensure that your web applications are thoroughly scanned, and any potential security issues are quickly detected and mitigated.