In present scenario, the number of attacks on websites has been increased a lot. The hackers attacking the websites have a variety of objective, such as:
- To steal information
- To steal money
- To hamper goodwill of the owner
Earlier on, it was believed that only ecommerce websites need security but the scenario has changed now. Not only ecommerce websites, but any website can suffer from a security or a vulnerability attack which may result in numerous problems.
An unprotected website is a big security risk not only its customers but for anyone associated with it. Besides loosing information, money or goodwill directly, these websites indirectly allow the spread and escalation of malware, attacks on other websites as well.
Certainly, none of the website owner can afford the reputation that their websites are prone to a hacking attack. A security breach can be devastating for any website, and this becomes even more critical when the users trust a website by providing their private information, such as their phone numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, or social security numbers etc.
The majority of security attacks occur owing to the following:
Frequency | Type of Attack |
37% | Cross-site scripting |
16% | SQL injection |
5% | Path disclosure |
5% | Denial-of-service attack |
4% | Arbitrary code execution |
4% | Memory corruption |
4% | Cross-site request forgery |
3% | Data breach (information disclosure) |
3% | Arbitrary file inclusion |
2% | Local file inclusion |
1% | Remote file inclusion |
1% | Buffer overflow |
15% | Other, including code injection (PHP/JavaScript), etc. |
In addition to the above mentioned threats, it is also advisable to host a website on dedicated server instead of shared server.
There are a number of technical solutions to consider when designing, building and testing secure web applications. At a high level, these solutions include:
- Black box testing tools
- White box testing tools
- Fuzzing Tools
- Web application security scanner (vulnerability scanner)
- Web Application Firewalls (WAF)
- Password cracking Tools
By Sam
For Owebest