Over the past decade, millions of businesses have embraced web applications as an inexpensive way to build relationships and transactions with prospects and customers. But while they provide the opportunity for greater customer insight and efficiency, web applications also have vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cybercriminals. One of the most common and devastating of these is a web attack.
A web attack is a type of cyberattack, where the attacker impersonates others to access sensitive information or perform illegal activities, like taking credit card numbers or other personal information. Common types of web-based attacks include Structured Query Language injection (SQLi) and cross-site scripting (XSS), and attacks on file uploads.
In SQLi attack, hackers input customized Structured Query Language (SQL) commands into an area on a web site or in a web application to steal private information stored on the database server behind. In an XSS attack, hackers insert malicious code into the web application or website that the victim’s browser executes automatically without validation or encodes. The attack can hijack session details, display unauthorized text or images, or redirect the victim to a phishing website.
The best way to guard against an attack via the internet is to perform regular vulnerability scans, and to apply patches to your site, its web servers and any databases involved in the attack. It is also an ideal idea to develop an incident response plan in order that should an attack occur, it can be quickly detected and dealt with. You must also be able to detect web attacks by being able to recognize warning signs such as slowing of networks and intermittent website shut downs.
