The backbone of many businesses today is their web application(s), whether used for storing client information, processing payments, or managing internal processes. When a web application is compromised, the business faces exposure of sensitive data, risk to their reputation and potential for financial loss. The bottom line is that security is essential for your business: it’s not optional!
The approach to securing a web application is not just using one tool or doing one thing to fix ‘bad’ configuration(s). It requires a continuous layered approach that consists of secure coding practices, solid infrastructure and ongoing monitoring. Here’s how to do this correctly:
Start with Secure Coding Practices
Security begins at the development stage. Poor coding is one of the most common entry points for attackers. Issues like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and insecure authentication often stem from weak coding standards.
Developers should validate and sanitise all user inputs, avoid hardcoding sensitive data, and use prepared statements for database queries. Writing clean, secure code reduces vulnerabilities before they even reach production.
Implement Strong Authentication & Authorization
Users don’t all need to have the same level of access. Attackers will typically target weak login systems as easy access points.
Adding additional layers of protection, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), can help provide more security. Other security enhancements include implementing strong password policies (and using hash algorithms to store users’ passwords securely (in addition to MFA)) and implementing a Role-Based Access Control so that users can only access systems and resources that they require and not any other systems/resources (i.e., limit users’ access).
Use HTTPS Everywhere
All transmitted information from users accessing a web application should be secured with encryption. Without secure information, hackers can intercept sensitive data (login credentials, payment data, etc.) that is submitted by users.
When data is sent via HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure), the communication is secure. In today’s environment, a company must implement SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security) certificates not only as an option but also as a mandatory baseline measure that builds trust and guarantees data protection.
Keep Software and Dependencies Updated
Older software is one of the first things hackers target when they want to get in. Many methods use publicly available vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the old versions of development frameworks, libraries and plug-ins to gain access.
Make sure you keep all of your applications up to date with patches on a regular basis, along with your servers and third-party dependencies. Whenever possible, automate your updates; this will decrease the chances of applying missing patches that are critical vulnerabilities.
Protect Against Common Attacks
By knowing about common threats, you will be better prepared to defend against them.
- SQL Injection: Use parameterised queries to help prevent SQL injection.
- Cross-Site Scripting (XSS): User input should be sanitised/encoded.
- Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF): Anti-CSRF tokens should be used.
- Brute Force Attacks – Limit the number of possible attempts to log in and include a CAPTCHA.
Security is not about eliminating all threats; it is about mitigating the majority of threats.
Secure Your APIs
When used improperly, APIs have the potential to introduce significant risk to a web application.
Each request that comes into your web application should have its own token of authentication that allows you to verify that the data within is correct and to ensure that you limit the number of requests made from one specific source by placing rate limitations on requests.
You should only make necessary endpoints available for each API and use encryption when transmitting sensitive data.
Set Up Firewalls and Monitoring
The WAF (Web Application Firewall) serves as a protective barrier between your application and the traffic that is generated by your application. This assists in identifying and preventing malicious activity from entering into your system.
However, protection does not stop with the blocked malicious activity. Continuous monitoring is also necessary by tracking the following:
- Unusual activity
- Failed logins attempts
- Traffic spike
The sooner you can identify a potential threat, the quicker you can take measures to neutralise that threat.
Final Thoughts
Protection of Web Applications is an ongoing process instead of a single effort. As the technology is ever-changing, Threats will also continually advance in the future, and what protects you today will not necessarily protect you tomorrow.
You must take a proactive stance by embedding security throughout the entire Lifecycle of your application (e.g., during development, deployment and after).
You should concentrate on prevention and have a plan to respond to incidents, because in today’s world, trust is everything and if you want to have trust from customers, then your security is your way of earning this trust.
