It is vital to ensure that your website and applications are secure as a business. Hackers are always looking for new ways to exploit vulnerabilities in websites and applications, so it is essential to stay ahead of the curve and know about the latest security threats. Using SCA tools, you can also assess some vulnerabilities and issues in your development cycle, catching issues before they become a threat.
Insecure Data Storage
One of the most common application security vulnerabilities is insecure data storage. This happens when sensitive data, such as passwords or credit card information, is stored in plain text instead of being encrypted. If this data falls into the wrong hands, it can be used to commit fraud or identity theft.
To prevent this from happening, businesses should encrypt all sensitive data stored on their servers. They should also use strong passwords and never store them in plain text. Additionally, they should regularly monitor their servers for any suspicious activity.
Insufficient Logging And Monitoring
Insufficient logging and monitoring is another common vulnerability. This means that businesses are not tracking what goes on with their website or application. This can make it difficult to identify issues or track down hackers if there is a breach.
To prevent this, businesses should ensure proper logging and monitoring in place. This includes tracking user activity and recording any errors that occur. Additionally, they should set up alerts to be notified of any suspicious activity. Different tools like DataDog, Loggly, and Splunk can help with this.
You can also set up application security monitoring, which can help you detect and respond to threats in real time. This includes monitoring for suspicious activity and identifying vulnerabilities in your code.
Broken Authentication And Session Management
Broken authentication and session management is another common vulnerability. This happens when there are flaws in how authentication and session management are handled. This can allow hackers to access sensitive data or take over user accounts.
To prevent this, businesses should ensure that they have strong authentication and session management in place. This includes using strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and proper session expiration. Additionally, they should regularly monitor their system for any suspicious activity.
- Auth0 provides a platform for implementing secure authentication and authorization. It offers users the ability to sign up with their email address or social media account and provides two-factor authentication and passwordless login.
- Okta is a cloud-based identity management service that offers users the ability to sign up and log in with their social media accounts or email address. It also provides two-factor authentication, as well as passwordless login.
Both of these tools can help you secure your authentication and session management.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a type of injection flaw. This happens when malicious code is injected into a website or application. This can allow hackers to gain access to sensitive data and take over user accounts.
To prevent this, businesses should ensure that they sanitize all input. This means that they remove any potentially harmful code before the server processes it. Additionally, they should escape all user-provided input to prevent any malicious code from being executed.
Different tools can help with this, such as OWASP’s AntiSamy and Microsoft’s AntiXSS Library.
- OWASP’s AntiSamy is a tool that helps developers cleanse user-provided input. It is available in both Java and .NET versions.
- Microsoft’s AntiXSS Library is a tool that helps developers escape user-provided input. It is available in both C# and VB.NET versions.
Injection Flaws
Injection flaws are another type of vulnerability. This happens when untrusted data is sent to an application. This can allow hackers to gain access to sensitive data and take over user accounts.
To prevent this, businesses should ensure that they validate all input. This means that they check to ensure that it is the correct type and format before the server processes it. Additionally, they should use prepared statements with parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection attacks.
Different tools can help with this, such as OWASP’s Data Sanitization and Validation Cheat Sheet and Microsoft’s .NET Input Validation Framework.
OWASP’s Data Sanitization and Validation Cheat Sheet guides how to validate input.
Broken Access Controls
Access controls are security features that control how users and systems communicate and with data. They can be used to restrict who can see or change data and what actions they can perform. When access controls are not correctly configured, it can allow unauthorized users access to sensitive information or allow them to perform actions that they should not be able to. This can lead to data breaches, loss of productivity, and even legal repercussions.
There are many different types of access control vulnerabilities, but some of the most common include:
- Lack of least privilege occurs when users are given more permissions than they need to perform their job. For example, a user might be able to read, write, and delete files when they should only be able to read them.
- Insecure default permissions: This happens when files and directories are given too wide-open permissions. For example, everyone might have read/write access when they should only have read access.
- Broken authentication and session management: This vulnerability allows attackers to gain access to resources or data they should not have access to. If authentication controls are weak or session management is not implemented correctly, it can happen.
