OWASP Top 10 Vulnerabilities in Website Security
Web applications give businesses a competitive edge. This technology allows companies to reach more potential customers across multiple platforms. Since information is stored online, web applications can be accessed 24/7. It is customizable and scalable, so you could expect various web applications to grow with your operation.
That said, utilizing web applications for your business is not without risks. Web applications aren’t immune to security threats. Hackers use their vulnerabilities to infiltrate a network.
Knowing common web application vulnerabilities is the first step in protecting your digital assets. After all, identifying the enemy is half the battle won. The Open Web Application Security Project, or OWASP, regularly compiles a list of the most common web application vulnerabilities. Below is the updated rundown of the OWASP top 10 vulnerabilities and how to secure your operations from them:
Injection
When it comes to web application attacks, injection is one of the top website vulnerabilities. This form of infiltration exposes an application to malicious data through submissions on the web application. The code interpreter takes the data and processes it as part of the original program. As a result, the hacker gains access to manipulate the application. Injection flaws open up an operation to data loss and corruption, and at its worse, complete system takeover.
Broken Authentication
In layman’s terms, authentication refers to how a system identifies a specific user. Means of authentication can vary from application to application. Nevertheless, attackers use faulty session and authentication management to gain access to credentials and other sensitive information.
Authentication vulnerabilities also extend to applications that allow the use of weak passwords. It is effortless for hackers to exploit easy passwords like “12345” or “password” to access accounts.
Sensitive Data Exposure
Sensitive Data Exposure vulnerabilities are a risk that healthcare and financial institutions are most wary of. If these data types fall into the wrong hands, it is simple to use them to commit more significant crimes such as fraud, identity theft, and various felonies.
Protection from sensitive data breaches is vital for every company, not just healthcare and financial operations. To be fair, securing sensitive information is not as complicated as most organizations deem it to be. Identifying and classifying data, encrypting data, disabling caching, and using strong passwords can help mitigate the risk of data breaches.
XML External Entities
XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is used to store and transfer data. Hackers use vulnerabilities within the XML to interfere with a system’s processing of XML data. More often than not, systems that run on older XML processors experience this type of vulnerability.
Broken Access Control
Access controls function as gatekeepers. It determines the users that can perform various tasks within an application. For instance, depending on a user’s authority, one user can have full access to an application, while another can only view but not edit data.
If access control breaks, the restrictions on who can access and edit data become compromised. Hackers can exploit this vulnerability and perform unauthorized actions such as deleting or changing information.
Security Misconfiguration
Having security measures to protect your digital assets is crucial to securing sensitive information. However, there is a chance that the installation of these security measures is faulty. Lapses in secure installation can harm an operation in different ways. For one, hackers can exploit misconfiguration to gain access to sensitive data. Moreover, it gives a company a false sense of security – enough to frog complimentary security measures.
Instituting an installation process is key to avoiding this vulnerability altogether. It is also a good idea to run checks on security programs periodically to ensure they remain in tip-top shape.
Cross-Site Scripting
Cross-Site Scripting, or XSS, vulnerabilities are common. In fact, they are present in more than 50% of web applications. XSS can occur when users can add their code into an application. Through XSS vulnerabilities, hackers can edit or delete critical functions of a web application, steal information, redirect users to malicious websites, and destroy pages. Undoubtedly, this is a type of attack that should be taken seriously.
Insecure Deserialization
To fully use a piece of data across all platforms, a process called serialization is used. Serialization, essentially, converts data into formats that are transferred and stored. Deserialization is the opposite of this process. Hackers often insert malicious code that deserializes data. Once data is deserialized, attackers can use the data to execute code remotely.
For the most part, human intervention is imperative in protecting systems from deserialization. Not accepting data from unreliable sources is the best way to protect your digital assets from this type of attack.
Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities
App components may include frameworks, libraries, modules, and plug-ins. These components have the same access and privileges as the application itself. This means that a vulnerability in a component is a vulnerability in the app. Hackers can exploit holes in a component to access the application directly. While this vulnerability’s effects are relatively minor, the most significant web application attacks in history were products of component vulnerabilities.
Insufficient Logging and Monitoring
Protecting your digital assets requires you to know the state of your system as a whole. Unfortunately, not a lot of businesses invest in real-time scanning. Usually, it takes 200 days before the malicious activity is detected within a network. Two hundred days is more than enough time for hackers to do severe damage. After all, an attack caught on time is easier to address and mitigate.
Securing the web applications that your business uses is the best way to maximize this technology’s potential fully. Regardless of the scale of your operation, cyberattacks cost you money and can wreak irreparable damage to your company.
Being aware of the threats is one thing; having a security partner ensuring your digital assets’ health is another. Securebrain allows companies to take advantage of web applications with minimal risks of top web security vulnerabilities. Our GRED Web Security Verification Cloud specifically tackles everything listed on the OWASP Top 10 Vulnerabilities to Website Security. This product can give you the peace of mind that you deserve. Check out our website to learn more about GRED Web Security Verification Cloud and our other services.