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 a cyberattack where an attacker impersonates another to gain access to sensitive information or malicious activities such as stealing credit card numbers or other personal information. Common types of web-based attacks include Structured Query Language injection (SQLi) Cross-site scripting (XSS), and file upload attacks.
In a SQLi hack, hackers insert customized Structured Query Language (SQL) commands into fields on a website or in a web-based app to steal private data stored on the database server behind. Similarly, in an XSS attack hackers insert malicious code into the web application or website that the victim’s web browser automatically executes without validation or encodes. The attack could steal session information, display illegal images or text or redirect the user to a phishing site.
The best way to guard against cyber-attacks is to run regular vulnerability scans, and apply patches to your website along with its web servers and any databases that are underneath. It’s also a good idea to establish an incident response plan to ensure that an attack can be identified quickly and dealt with. You must also be able to identify attacks on websites by recognizing warning signs such as slowing of networks and intermittent website shut downs.