The Basics of Web Security
Modern organizations rely heavily on web applications for business functions such as e-commerce, customer engagement and brand empowerment. Those applications often collect and churn large amounts of data, making them an attractive target for attackers who want to steal information and compromise user or organizational security. Learn more about the basics of web security, common vulnerabilities and resources to help keep your organization safe from hackers.
Unlike internal network applications, web apps are exposed to the public internet and anyone with an IP address can access them. Attackers know this, and it is why web application security should be a top priority for every organization.
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is focusing all their energy on the code, design and functionality of a web app but overlooking security. Fortunately, there are some simple steps that can be taken to improve the security of any web application.
A basic rule to remember is the principle of least privilege: only give users the permissions they need to do their jobs. For example, it is never a good idea to give an employee full admin access. That kind of permission would allow them to modify or even delete critical files, which could cripple an entire platform or system. Instead, only grant them read-only access to the files they need to do their work and you’ll be much safer.
Another essential measure is a web application firewall (WAF). This security solution sets up between the website server and the data connection and reads everything that passes through it, looking for dangerous patterns or commands. It is a vital tool for protecting against some of the most common attacks against web applications, including cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injections.
It is also important to have a good password policy. Using passwords that include uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and special characters can significantly increase your website’s security. Lastly, any website that takes online payments or gathers personal data should use SSL to encrypt the data and protect it from interception while it is in transit.
Lastly, it is crucial to keep up with the latest threats by scanning your website for any weaknesses regularly. If you don’t, then any vulnerability left undiscovered can easily be exploited by hackers to compromise your site or steal data. This includes ensuring that all softwares, plugins and extensions are up to date. Hackers aggressively look for ways to compromise websites, so staying on top of the latest vulnerabilities is critical.
Our comprehensive suite of solutions offers best-in-class DLP, Web filtering, content inspection, zero-day anti-malware and SSL inspection with broad integrations. This provides a robust set of web security tools that can be deployed on-premises, as a cloud service or as a hybrid solution. The portfolio is easy to manage with unified reporting and visuals of top-accessed domains, site categories, blocked domains and requests that lead to malicious sites. All this is offered with a low total cost of ownership and fast deployment, so you can be confident that your organization is protected from the most common forms of cyber threats on the internet.