Web security is a crucial part of our lives. Today, whether it is about personal data protection, running a business safely, or deploying an application. Whether you have decided to begin your digital transformation journey or are looking to register more users for your new game, cybersecurity and the safety of sensitive data need to be a top priority.
Not only are they expensive, but they can ruin your reputation and lead to the loss of many customers. And unfortunately, many web security vulnerabilities can rear their heads and cause you a lot of problems. This article will take a closer look at three of them and provide some tips on avoiding them.
Injection Flaws
An injection flaw is when a hacker or cyber-criminal will directly target your site, server, or database. They will input a code that can allow them to do different things from seeing data, modifying data, and even seeing user inputs.
This can often give them control of your database and see user passwords and personal information, which could put your entire application (and all of your users) at risk. These types of attacks can even allow them to change the pricing of your products.
The way to avoid injection flaws is by filtering your inputs and manually seeing if they can be trusted before adding to the code. Having specific protocols and prepared statements in place can also help with prevention. You can also outsource your database protection and leave it in the hands of professionals.
Cross-Site Scripting
Another widespread choice for hackers is cross-site scripting. This is when hackers will seek out those using a site or platform, not the application itself. Malicious code will be added to an otherwise safe website, and users can unknowingly be giving their information away. The hacker often creates a link and tries to get the user/site visitor to click it.
Once they do, the code is executed, and the hacker may gain information such as location, passwords, personal information and potentially access their webcam. While these are prevalent, they are generally quite simple in nature. The best way to avoid and prevent these attacks is to set up a firewall that seeks out and blocks these requests to your site. This means you will have full control over the requests that come in and make sure your site isn’t compromised.
Using Unverified Code
In some cases, a company, team, or developer may use publicly available code in their apps or platforms. While using these random codes from third-party developers can save a lot of time and money, they have the potential to be harmful.
Some can actually feature malicious code, whereas others might have had an inherent vulnerability that was missed. Either way, directly using this code could lead to security-related issues.
To avoid this potential vulnerability, be careful when using third-party or unverified code. Be sure to perform security audits, and ensure all plugins you use are updated and patched recently.
While this isn’t an attack on you, it can still leave you very vulnerable, often without knowing until it’s too late. Never copy and paste code; always check and test it and research the person or team that created it.
Security is a major concern for businesses of all kinds and for a good reason. By using the tips outlined in this article, you will be able to ensure you can avoid many of the common web security vulnerabilities out there.
