Web application security refers to a variety of processes, technologies, or methods for protecting web servers, web applications, and web services such as APIs from attack by Internet-based threats. Web application security is crucial to protecting data, customers, and organizations from data theft, interruptions in business continuity, or other harmful results of cybercrime.
By most estimates, more than three-quarters of all cybercrime targets applications and their vulnerabilities. Web application security products and policies strive to protect applications through measures such as web application firewalls (WAFs), multi-factor authentication (MFA) for users, the use, protection, and validation of cookies to maintain user state and privacy status, and various methods for validating user input to ensure it is not malicious before that input is processed by an application.
The world today runs on apps, from online banking and remote work apps to personal entertainment delivery and e-commerce. It’s no wonder that applications are a primary target for attackers, who exploit vulnerabilities such as design flaws as well as weaknesses in APIs, open-source code, third-party widgets, and access control.
Brute force
Credential stuffing
SQL injection and form jacking injections
Man-in-the-middle (MITM) and man-in-the-browser attacks
Sensitive data disclosure
Insecure deserialization
Session hijacking
One recent study estimated that cybercrime will cost $5.2 trillion in lost value across all industries by 2024. Another estimated the losses will reach $6 trillion annually before then2. Security devices and technologies are crucial for limiting, if not eliminating, such costs. In addition to direct financial and data theft, web application threats can destroy assets, customer goodwill, and business reputations. That makes web application security imperative for organizations of all sizes.
Majority of Web Application Attacks
SQL Injection
XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)
Remote Command Execution
Path Traversal
Attack Results
Access to restricted content
Compromised user accounts
Installation of malicious code
Lost sales revenue
Loss of trust with customers
Damaged brand reputation
And much more
A Web application in today’s environment can be affected by a wide range of issues. The diagram above demonstrates several of the top attacks attackers use, which can seriously damage an individual application or the overall organization. Knowing the different attacks that make an application vulnerable and the potential outcomes of an attack allows your firm to address the vulnerabilities and accurately test for them preemptively.
By identifying the root cause of the vulnerabilities, mitigating controls can be implemented during the early stages of the SDLC to prevent any issues. Additionally, knowledge of how these attacks work can be leveraged to target known points of interest during a Web application security test.
Recognizing the impact of an attack is also key to managing your firm’s risk, as the effects of a successful attack can be used to gauge the vulnerability’s total severity. If issues are identified during a security test, defining their severity allows your firm to efficiently prioritize the remediation efforts. Start with critical severity issues and work towards lower impact issues to minimize risk to your firm.
Prior to an issue being identified, evaluating the potential impact against each application within your firm’s application library can facilitate the prioritization of application security testing. With an established list of high-profile applications, web security testing can be scheduled to target your firm’s critical applications first with more targeted testing to lower the risk against the business.
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