Web Security – How to Protect Your Website From Cyberattacks
The web has allowed the world and the marketplace to become highly interconnected, but it has also opened up broader attack surfaces that make it easy for bad actors to penetrate defenses. These attackers can steal or destroy data, disrupt services and business operations, and damage brand reputation. To avoid these threats, organizations should implement web security solutions that include coding practices, server and database configurations, security patches and updates, and backup and recovery strategies.
Many websites have flaws in their coding, which can leave them open to attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). The good news is that most modern web frameworks offer “by default” robust and well-thought-out protections against these vulnerabilities. It’s also important to keep software up to date and to deploy patching, upgrading and testing on a regular basis—especially before a website experiences a large spike in traffic or after a vulnerability has been discovered.
Other common cyberattacks against a web-based business include spyware, which collects personal or confidential information from devices and sends it to unauthorized individuals without consent. This information can be used to commit identity theft, credit card fraud and other crimes. In addition, malware can affect device and network performance and inhibit user activity.
Web application firewalls (WAFs) are another critical component of a robust web security strategy, which can prevent these attacks from penetrating an organization’s infrastructure by filtering out malicious requests before they reach the web servers. Other defenses include authentication and access control, which use mechanisms like multifactor authentication and role-based access controls to ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive data.
Data encryption is another valuable tool for web security, which encrypts data in transit and at rest to protect it from unauthorized access and interception. This includes ensuring that database connections are secured with SSL/TLS and using strong cryptography for file storage on servers.
Other key web security strategies include reducing the number of permissions that are granted to applications, and keeping up to date with the latest threat intelligence and vulnerability scanning tools. It’s also a good idea to periodically review all application permissions—does that light-based game really need access to your contacts or camera?—and to disable unnecessary browser extensions.
The costs of web-related cyberattacks can be significant, and can include the cost of implementing new technology or cybersecurity expertise to fix the problem; public relations support to mitigate the damage to customer trust and retention; and fines from regulatory authorities for failure to comply with data privacy and security laws. In addition, companies that experience a security breach often see a decline in revenue as customers take their business elsewhere.
With all these threats abounding, web security is essential for every business. The good news is that there are many painless ways to thwart hacking attempts, including installing frequent security patches, updating outdated software on a timely basis, and enabling automatic backups of data. By proactively addressing these painless tasks, organizations can reduce the risk of cyberattacks that threaten their data, reputation and business.