What is Web Application Security?
Application security is one of the core aspects of cybersecurity. Application security may include hardware software and procedures that identify or minimize security vulnerabilities. It describes security measures at the application level to prevent data or code within the application from being stolen or hijacked. It involves systems and approaches to protect apps after they get deployed. Application security is developing, adding, and testing security features within the applications to prevent security vulnerabilities against threats such as unauthorized access and modification of files.
Web application security is the process of protecting websites and online services against different security threats that exploit vulnerabilities in an application's code. Typical targets for web application attacks are content management systems (e.g., WordPress, Joomla), database administration tools (e.g., phpMyAdmin), and SaaS applications. Web applications live on remote servers and not locally on a user's machine, and information must be transferred to and from the user over the internet.
These are a few of the web application vulnerabilities, and they are all part of the OWASP top 10:
Cross-site Scripting (XSS) – Cross-site scripting, commonly referred to as XSS, occurs when hackers execute malicious JavaScript within a victim's browser. The code is run within a user's browser. Upon initial injection, the site typically isn't entirely controlled by the attacker. Instead, the bad actor attaches their malicious code to a legitimate website, essentially tricking browsers into executing their malware whenever the site is loaded.
SQL Injection – SQL injection (SQLi) is a technique used to inject malicious code into existing SQL statements. These injections make it possible for malicious users to bypass existing security controls and gain unauthorized access to obtain, modify, and extract data, including customer records, intellectual property, or personal information. Attackers can also use this technique to locate administrators' credentials and gain complete control over affected websites, applications, and database servers. SQL injection attacks can affect any application that uses a SQL database and handles data, including websites, desktops, and phone apps—with severe consequences.
Remote File Inclusion – A hacker uses this type of attack to inject a file onto a web application server remotely. This can result in malicious scripts or code within the application and data theft or manipulation.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) - is a type of attack that occurs when a malicious website, email, blog, instant message, or program causes a user's web browser to perform an unwanted action on a trusted site when the user is authenticated. A CSRF attack works because browser requests automatically include all cookies, including session cookies. Therefore, if the user is authenticated to the site, the site cannot distinguish between legitimate requests and forged requests.
Here are few ways of securing a web application:
When developing and securing a web application, it is essential to gather as much information as possible about the web application. An application should go through code reviews, and a manual review of the application should be done to identify the entry points and client-side code. The application should be tested for vertical and horizontal access control issues and validate the application for authentication and authorization issues. All data transmitted through the web application should be secure with up-to-date encryption. It would be essential to increase the application's resilience against a DDOS attack by having account lockout policies and a combination of network filtering services. A WAF (Web Application Firewall) would help to protect a web application against malicious network traffic by placing a filtration type barrier between the targeted server and attackers.
Applications are the most significant attack vector for an attacker. The reality is that clever attackers might be able to find a vulnerability even in a reasonably secure environment. Therefore it is essential to maintain a holistic approach.
