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 an example of a cyberattack in which the attacker takes on the persona of another to gain access to sensitive information or malicious actions, like stealing credit card numbers or other personal information. The most common types of web attacks include Structured Query Language injection (SQLi) and cross-site scripting (XSS), and file upload attacks.
In a SQLi attack hackers enter customized Structured Query Language commands into a web application or website field to steal private information stored in the database server behind. Similar to an XSS attack hackers inject malicious code into an app or website that the victim’s browser automatically executes without validation or encodes. The attack could steal session information, display illegal images or text or redirect the user to a fake website.
The best way to defend against cyber-attacks is to run regular vulnerability scans, and to apply patches to your site, its web servers board software features and any databases that are underlying. It’s also a good idea to develop an incident response plan to ensure that an attack can be identified quickly and dealt with. Additionally, you should know how to detect an attack on your website by observing warning indicators like slowing of network speeds or intermittent website shutdowns.
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