What is Web Security?
Web security is a set of policies and procedures designed to protect a business’s computers and internet-connected devices from hackers and malware. It’s a critical part of protecting your company’s data and reputation.
Websites are a popular target for cyber criminals, and if your website is hacked, your entire business can be disrupted and data can be stolen. The most common cyberattacks on websites include vulnerabilities, phishing attacks, and credential compromise.
Vulnerabilities are the weak spots in a website that are used by hackers to gain access to your site and data. These weaknesses can result in the loss of traffic, customer information, or both.
Sensitive data: Keeping sensitive data (credit card numbers, user passwords, etc) secure is the most important thing to do in terms of web security. Keeping this data protected will prevent it from being intercepted by eavesdroppers or being corrupted during transmission.
The most common type of website vulnerability is cross-site scripting (XSS). It involves a hacker inserting client-side scripts into pages on your site that can be used to access and manipulate data. It’s also a way for attackers to impersonate users and to steal sensitive data.
XSS is a common way for hackers to access your site, but remote file inclusion also allows them to upload malicious software to your website through the same vulnerabilities. This can result in a full-blown data breach that could cost your business hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in lost revenue.
In addition to identifying and fixing these vulnerabilities, businesses need to educate themselves on how to keep their website safe from hackers. This can include encrypting your data, limiting the information that is displayed, and making sure your website is regularly updated with software updates.
Misconfiguration: Poorly configured servers, browsers, and other web application components are a prime source of vulnerabilities for businesses. These components often contain default passwords and development tools, which can leave your site vulnerable to hackers. To prevent this from happening, ensure you have a good “build and deploy” process that runs tests on deploy.
Use strong, unique passwords: Passwords should be long and complex with a mix of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numerals, and special characters. These passwords will help to deter brute force attacks, which are the most commonly used technique by hackers to crack passwords.
Make sure you’re using HTTPS and TLS: SSL is an essential security feature for any business. It encrypts data between your web page and the server that hosts it. It also helps to prevent hackers from stealing sensitive data.
Implement same-origin policy: This is a crucial security mechanism that limits how documents or scripts load from different origins. It works by allowing you to provide a cryptographic hash that fetched resources must match to be allowed to interact with one another.
Installing updates to plugins and core software: These are a vital part of securing a website hosted on a content management system (CMS). Many CMSs and third-party plugins don’t have regular updates, which means they can be easily hacked into by malicious actors.