Web application security threats and countermeasures : Congratulations! Your hard work has paid off! You have a successful business running on website. We all know the countless hours you have spent in researching, designing, implementing, checking SEO scores, promoting your website — and now you are a proud owner. Your business is thriving, you have happy customers, getting excellent feedback and generating profits through website. So, is that all?
Well, think again? What would happen if there is a complete wipe-out of data? What if there is a Denial of Service during peak sale? Well, this scenario is ‘not improbable’ as it seems.
There is a continuous threat for companies from both internal and external environment. It is very important for website owners to not only be well equipped with ammunition to try & combat cyber threats but also to continuously monitor and find out vulnerabilities and find out ways to remove them.
Some of the common Web application security threats:
# Threat 1 : Ransomware
# Threat 2 : Malware
# Threat 3 : Accidental File Deletion
# Threat 4 : Phishing
# Threat 5 : Data Breaches
# Threat 6 : Employee sabotage
# Threat 7 : DDoS
Most of which we have already covered in our previous articles.
Read Online scams: A rising web issue and Preventions
There are few ways to prevent website downtime:
- Investment in Information Security:
Organizations on an average spend approximately 18% of the allocated IT budget on Information Security Solutions. In spite of this, 18 out of 20 large global businesses have admitted to have suffered security breach. Hence, it is very evident that one needs make an investment wisely by consulting a specialist in cyber security domain, to reduce the known & unknown cyber threats protect their business information.
- Stay abreast of latest developments:
One needs to stay updated with the cyber news around them. Almost daily we hear a new security breach happening it’s very important not only to keep oneself updated but also to find out ways to combat them.
- Access control needs to be beefed up
Everyone should not be given free access to all information; the concept of least privilege needs to be incorporated here. Multifactor authentication can be used to restrict access to particular information or place.
- Use of Web Application Security Scanner:
Regular use of Vulnerability scanners helps us to identify any loopholes. Also, a good scanner not only shows the vulnerability but also gives suggestion to negate it. It is very important to not only to use the scanner regularly but also to regularly update it so that it is patched to identify new vulnerabilities.
Apart from using a scanner random manual assessment also needs to be done by qualified security experts.
- Operate like you expect an attack:
One needs to all be cautious, and on their toes to be prepared to face any sort of cyber attacks. One needs to update all access controls regularly as per requirement. Policy needs to be regularly updated to incorporate any requirement.
- Governance:
The first task of a CISO is to educate the Board all the top officials about how crucial Information security is & the risk associated with it.
Also depending upon an organization a proper team needs to be recruited who will not only oversee the Information Security but will also draft and implement policies and will keep a check about the mandatory compliances which needs to be implemented. The main goal is that the board embraces the fact that cyber security is one of the risks which needs to be taken care.
- Cyber Security Training
Internal threats are the main risk to a firm any given point of time. It is rightly said that Human Resource is the biggest asset of the firm but here we can easily say that the biggest asset if taken for granted can cause maximum damage to any firm.
It is very important to include employees in the fight for Information Security, by conducting training regularly for them.
Training should be made interesting & Interactive and not on the desk. A short film can be shown, fliers can be distributed, tests can be conducted for analyzing their knowledge making it compulsory for all employees to pass these tests.
- Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is a continuous process. From the time a company comes into being till the time the company is liquidated risk assessment needs to be followed.
Risk Assessment ideally needs to be performed on quarterly basis. A company should not only be concerned about its own risk but also the risk and vulnerabilities of competitors, counterparts so that they are come together and find a common solution to mitigate it, instead of working in isolation.
Top management should keep themselves updated with the breaches and updates happenings around the world, which will help them draft their policies, training programs, risk mitigation strategies etc.
- Access Management
Access management is a key part of an organization and regular audits need to be made to make sure that least privilege is being followed.
Example: As soon as an employee quits or leaves the firm his access needs to be terminated. A person who has moved to a different department needs access only for the work which he is assigned so his previous access is of no use and needs to be removed.
Make no mistake — cyber criminals are targeting your website and may want to inflict harm on your business so they can profit. It’s no longer a matter of if an attack on your website will happen — it’s only a matter of when.