What is Web Application Security?

Web application security refers to the set of practices implemented to safeguard websites, applications, and APIs against malicious attacks. This field encompasses a wide range of techniques and approaches, all aimed at ensuring the smooth operation of web applications while safeguarding businesses from cyber vandalism, data breaches, unfair competition, and other detrimental outcomes.

The interconnected nature of the Internet exposes web applications and APIs to potential attacks originating from multiple sources, both in terms of geographic location and the complexity of the attacks themselves. Consequently, web application security involves a diverse array of strategies that address different aspects of the software supply chain, working together to establish comprehensive protection.

What are common web application security risks?

Web applications can be targeted by various types of attacks, depending on the objectives of the attackers, the nature of the targeted organization’s work, and the specific security vulnerabilities of the applications. Here are some common attack types:

• Zero-day vulnerabilities: These are vulnerabilities that are unknown to the developers of an application, hence lacking available fixes. Over 20,000 zero-day vulnerabilities are discovered each year. Attackers exploit these vulnerabilities swiftly and often try to bypass security measures implemented by security vendors.

• Cross-site scripting (XSS): XSS is a vulnerability that enables attackers to inject client-side scripts into a webpage, allowing them to directly access sensitive information, impersonate users, or deceive them into revealing important data.

• SQL injection (SQi): SQi is a method used by attackers to exploit vulnerabilities in a database’s search query execution. Through SQi, attackers gain unauthorized access to information, modify or create user permissions, or manipulate and destroy sensitive data.

• Denial-of-service (DoS) and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks: Attackers overload targeted servers or surrounding infrastructure using various attack traffic vectors. When a server becomes overwhelmed, it slows down and eventually denies service to legitimate user requests.

• Memory corruption: Memory corruption occurs when unintentional modifications are made to a specific memory location, leading to unexpected behavior in software. Malicious actors search for and exploit memory corruption through methods like code injections or buffer overflow attacks.

• Buffer overflow: Buffer overflow is an anomaly that happens when software writes data beyond the defined space (buffer) in memory. Overflowing the buffer can overwrite adjacent memory locations with data, which can be exploited to inject malicious code into memory and potentially create vulnerabilities in the targeted system.

• Cross-site request forgery (CSRF): CSRF involves tricking victims into making requests that utilize their authentication or authorization. By leveraging a user’s account privileges, attackers send requests that appear to be from the user. Once an account is compromised, attackers can exfiltrate, destroy, or modify important information. Highly privileged accounts like administrators or executives are commonly targeted.

• Credential stuffing: Attackers may employ bots to rapidly input large sets of stolen username and password combinations into a web application’s login portal. If successful, attackers can gain access to a real user’s account, steal their data, or make fraudulent purchases in their name.

• Page scraping: Attackers may utilize bots to extract content from webpages on a large scale. This stolen content can be used to gain a competitive pricing advantage, impersonate the page owner for malicious purposes, or for other nefarious reasons.

• API abuse: APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) facilitate communication between applications. Attackers exploit vulnerabilities in APIs to inject malicious code or intercept sensitive data as it moves between applications. API abuse is increasingly common as API usage grows. The OWASP API Top Ten list provides a concise summary of key API security risks.

• Shadow APIs: Development teams often create and publish APIs without informing security teams, leading to unknown APIs that expose sensitive company data. These “shadow” APIs operate without the knowledge of security teams responsible for API protection.

• Third-party code abuse: Modern web applications often rely on third-party tools, such as payment processing services for ecommerce sites. If attackers find vulnerabilities in these tools, they can compromise them to steal processed data, disrupt functionality, or inject malicious code into the application. Magecart attacks, which extract credit card data from payment processors, exemplify this type of attack and are also considered browser supply chain attacks.

• Attack surface misconfigurations: An organization’s attack surface encompasses its entire IT infrastructure that could be vulnerable to cyberattacks, including servers, devices, SaaS, and cloud assets accessible from the Internet. Neglecting or misconfiguring certain elements within the attack surface can leave it susceptible to attacks.

What are important web application security strategies?

Web application security is a constantly evolving discipline, encompassing various measures to protect against emerging attacks and vulnerabilities. In today’s dynamic threat landscape, organizations must incorporate essential security services tailored to their specific requirements. These fundamental security services include:

• DDoS Mitigation: DDoS mitigation services act as a shield between servers and the public Internet, leveraging advanced filtration techniques and high bandwidth capacity to prevent overwhelming surges of malicious traffic. Such services are crucial because modern DDoS attacks generate enough traffic to overwhelm even the most resilient servers.

• Web Application Firewall (WAF): WAFs filter out and block traffic that is known or suspected to exploit web application vulnerabilities. Given the rapid and discreet emergence of new vulnerabilities, WAFs play a critical role in protecting organizations that may not be able to detect them independently.

• API Gateways: These gateways assist in identifying “shadow APIs” that may have been overlooked and help block traffic targeting API vulnerabilities. They also aid in managing and monitoring API traffic. API gateways are invaluable for maintaining the security of web applications. (Learn more about API security.)

• DNSSEC: DNSSEC is a protocol that ensures the secure routing of a web application’s DNS traffic to the correct servers, thereby preventing interception by on-path attackers and ensuring user safety.

• Encryption Certificate Management: By entrusting a third party with the management of key aspects of the SSL/TLS encryption process, such as generating private keys, certificate renewal, and revocation, organizations can eliminate the risk of oversight and exposure of private traffic due to vulnerabilities.

• Bot Management: Leveraging machine learning and specialized detection methods, bot management systems distinguish automated traffic from human users, effectively preventing unauthorized access to web applications.

• Client-side Security: This involves monitoring for new third-party JavaScript dependencies and changes in third-party code, enabling organizations to detect malicious activities promptly.

• Attack Surface Management: Comprehensive attack surface management tools provide a centralized platform to map an organization’s attack surface, identify potential security risks, and mitigate those risks with minimal effort.

As the field of web application security continues to evolve, these security services represent essential building blocks for organizations to safeguard their digital assets and mitigate emerging threats.

What application security best practices should organizations expect from their vendors?

Web developers possess the ability to create and construct applications in a manner that prevents unauthorized access to private data, fraudulent manipulation of user accounts, and other malicious activities. The OWASP Top 10 list outlines the most prevalent security risks that developers should acknowledge. To mitigate these risks, the following practices are recommended:

• Implementing input validation: By obstructing the passage of improperly formatted data through the application’s workflows, developers can prevent injection attacks and the introduction of malicious code.

• Employing up-to-date encryption: Storing user data in an encrypted format and utilizing HTTPS to encrypt inbound and outbound traffic helps safeguard against data theft by attackers.

• Providing robust authentication and authorization mechanisms: Building and enforcing measures such as strong password policies, multi-factor authentication options (including hardware keys), access control protocols, and other security practices makes it significantly more challenging for attackers to illegitimately access user accounts and traverse the application.

• Maintaining oversight of APIs: It is crucial to utilize tools that can identify potential vulnerabilities in overlooked “shadow APIs.” However, by ensuring that APIs are never overlooked in the first place, developers can enhance API security.

• Documenting code changes: This practice facilitates collaboration between security and development teams, enabling them to promptly address newly introduced vulnerabilities and implement necessary fixes.

How does Toffs keep web applications secure?

Toffs operates a vast network spanning 300 cities worldwide, delivering a range of comprehensive security services. These services include DDoS mitigation, a Web Application Firewall, API protection, DNSSEC, Managed SSL/TLS, Bot management, client-side security, and more.

Our network allows these services to be seamlessly deployed from any data center, enabling efficient interception of attacks at their source. Integrating with our website performance services, these security measures ensure that adding new protection measures does not compromise the speed of your traffic. Moreover, these services are compatible with all types of website infrastructure and can often be activated within minutes.

To experience the benefits of these services, simply register for a Toffs plan.