What Is Web Application Security and Why Is It Important?

Web application security is one of the most important things to consider. To maintain the best possible security posture and protect your sensitive data against cyberattacks, you cannot just rely on security products alone.

According to Security Magazine , the latest study shows that a cyber attack takes place somewhere in the world every 39 seconds. The computers in the study were attacked, on average, 2,244 times a day.

As hackers become hungrier for people’s sensitive data and the number of cyberattacks increases, it’s vital to ensure reliable protection of your web app.

Why Is Web App’s Security Important for Your Business?

Everything that has access to the internet can be hacked. Not only computers but also small IoT devices. According to Forrester , three sectors account for the majority of successful cyber attacks:

Government
Retail
Healthcare

Although those are the most popular sectors among hackers, it's not a reason to relax if you're in another. Basically, if your database stores information about your users, there is a risk you will be the target as well.

Forrester’s 2020 The State of Application Security report also found that the majority of external attacks occur either by exploiting a software vulnerability (42%) or through a web application (35%). Optimal web application security starts in the design phase and continues well after the web application release.

Common Web App Security Vulnerabilities

Our DEVOPS engineer, Daniel Dimitrov reminds us that the biggest threat to web security is the user. We should always start with ourselves and the people at our company. Broken authentication where a hacker gets access to a user profile by hacking the credentials is one of the most common problems according to OWASP (a nonprofit foundation that works to improve the security of software). Let's take a look at other common security vulnerabilities and ways you can avoid them.

Injection flaws – attacker uses malicious data to attack the databases and directories of your web app.
Sensitive data exposure – hackers can easily get access to data that’s not protected with encryption.
Missing function level access control – a hacker can attack the backend of your app if the server-side authorization is misconfigured, broken or non-existent.
Security misconfiguration – include unpatched flaws, unused pages, unprotected files or directories, outdated software, and running software in debug mode.
Cross-site scripting XSS – a hacker gets access to a web app by planting the malicious code into links that a user needs to click to initiate the attack.
Insecure direct object references – exposed database files or keys open lots of vulnerabilities. Hackers can try to get these files by using enumeration attacks.
Cross-site request forgery – hackers trick users to click the links with malicious code and take over their sessions.
Using third-party components with vulnerabilities – your web app can be hacked through vulnerabilities from the third-party components you use in your product.
Unvalidated redirects and forwards – a hacker forwards a user to a malicious website where they can steal the user's data.

How To Secure Web App
Daniel Dimitrov says that security is not a state but a process. It's a never ending story you don't want to underestimate. We put together a few tips that can help you.

1. Adopt a Cybersecurity Framework

Cybersecurity is very complex and requires a well-organized approach. It’s easy to forget about certain aspects and just as easy to fall into chaos. That is why we advise to base the security strategy on a selected cybersecurity framework.

A cybersecurity framework is a strategic approach that begins with detailed research on security risks and includes activities such as developing a cyber incident response plan along with suitable application security checklists. The bigger the organization, the more such a strategic approach is needed.

2. Use Encryption

The basic technologies such as HTTPS and HSTS encryptions are a great start but keep going. Implement SSL encryption for all users data you send to and receive from the server. To keep your data safe even when someone has access to it, you need encryption and hashing.

3. Use Penetration Testing

Penetration testing puts your software in near-world situations where a QA specialist plays the role of a hacker and tries to infiltrate the system. This kind of testing offers several techniques to make sure all situations are considered. It allows you to find the vulnerabilities and results in a detailed document that can serve as the basis for a security check.

4. Keep Your Web App Updated

Don't forget to update not only your software but all the third-party services and libraries which are used in its infrastructure. Hackers often use third-party software to infiltrate the main system, so beware of these threats as well. Make sure you actually use all libraries you integrate into your software and use the latest version of each library, if you know it's stable.

And that's why we mentioned the framework in the first point. When you have a clear web app's documentation it's much easier. Look at the documentation and see what tools and libraries are you using. Get rid of those who you don't need and update everything else.

5. Manage Permissions

Limit access to your software according to employees’ needs. Use different levels of access. If someone breaks into your system through employee credentials, they can't go any further than what the system allows.

6. Check and Test Regularly

There are many tools you can use to test and analyze different things. For example, security headers that can keep your site safe and quickly look up the most important details. Check on your software regularly to make sure everything is secured.

7. Educate Yourself

The final advice from Daniel is to keep on following the newest information, educate yourself and look for potential threats. Good source could be, for example, The Hacker news where you'll get the newest information about new ways to keep your data safe.