What is Web Security?

The internet has accelerated productivity in today’s organizations and made it possible for remote and hybrid work. However, our reliance on the web also makes it a target for attackers seeking to steal data, hold websites hostage for ransom, disrupt business operations, and cause reputational harm. As attacks continue to grow in sophistication and frequency, effective web security is increasingly critical to an organization’s success.

What is web security?

The term web security refers to a set of technologies that protect websites and their applications from cyberattacks. Attacks targeting the web can take many forms, including malware, ransomware, phishing, SQL injection, and other vulnerabilities that are targeted by advanced web security solutions. An ideal web security solution leverages multiple technologies to stop these threats and build a holistic defense.

Authentication and access control: By verifying user identities and implementing role-based access control, web security ensures that only authorized users can view sensitive information. This is especially important when handling payment systems, email accounts, or other sites that require authentication. Additionally, web security solutions should sanitize input to prevent threat actors from injecting malicious code into websites.

Malware: From stealing login credentials to encrypting data, there are endless variants of malware. To combat the threat, web security should deploy anti-virus and malware protections, as well as a firewall that blocks unauthorized traffic to the server. Additionally, a web security solution should prevent directory browsing so that threat actors cannot view the contents of files stored on the web server.

Phishing: Most data breaches start with a phishing email, and to avoid falling victim to one, web security should filter incoming traffic to block phishing domains and suspicious redirections. Additionally, a scalable web security solution should implement load balancing to prevent servers from being overwhelmed by attack traffic and enable the website to withstand unexpected high loads.

SQL injection: By exploiting a vulnerability in the database, attackers can retrieve, manipulate, or delete data from a web application. To prevent this, web security should use a firewall to limit unauthenticated data flow to the database server and ensure that input is sanitized on both client and server sides.

Other: Lastly, an effective web security solution should include a backup system to ensure that even in the event of a hardware failure or an attack, data can be recovered. This is particularly important for sensitive data such as personal identification numbers, health records, or financial information.

To keep up with rapidly evolving threats, the best web security solutions offer continuous monitoring and updates. Moreover, by moving security functions to the cloud, organizations can achieve robust protection without the need for on-site hardware or software installation. Moreover, these solutions typically leverage global threat intelligence to provide faster response times. With the right web security tools in place, you can spend more time growing your business and less time worrying about cyberattacks.