Mastering Web Security Protocols: A Comprehensive Guide

Security has become a necessity rather than an option in this digital era. Most businesses have shifted their operations online and handle susceptible customer data. This shift makes the system more prone to cyber-attacks. The hackers keep evolving, trying new ways of exploiting every weakness. All, however small or big the company is, is safe if protection in the form of strong security measures is offered. This article shall guide you through the importance of web security, common cyber threats, and how to put up web security protocols to safeguard your business from devastating attacks.

Why Does Web Security Matter?

If you have an online business, web security is essential for protecting sensitive information. Whether it’s personal data relating to your customers, transactions that may take place through your platform, or business activities. Data theft and reputational losses are threats to any business that relies on web apps. Poor coding practices, such as leaving open vulnerabilities in your web app, can expose it to attacks that could be easily avoided with strong security protocols. To prevent these threats, developers must use clean, secure coding methods that prioritize safety.

Did you know: In summer 2018, A data breach compromised the personal information of approximately 500,000 customers of British Airways, including credit card details and travel information. As a result British Airways was fined £20 million.

Most Common Web Security Threats

Web applications are exposed to a wide range of security vulnerabilities. Understanding typical dangers and applying preventative measures are critical for ensuring your online application is secure against assaults. Let’s look at some of the most prevalent online risks and how to avoid them.

SQL Injection

SQL Injection refers to an attack whereby malicious SQL commands are injected into the web application’s database through unsanitized user input. To launch a SQL Injection attack, a malicious actor first looks for vulnerabilities in user inputs on a website or app. If the app uses this input directly in a SQL query without proper sanitization, the attacker can bypass security, access confidential data, or add, modify, or delete records in the database, or worse it can upload a malicious package, known as a payload which can result in a complete takeover of the server. Any app that uses a database that is based on SQL such as MySQL, MSSQL, Oracle, or PostgreSQL is susceptible to this type of attack.

Types of SQL Injection

There are different types of SQL injections including:

In-band SQLi (Classic SQLi)

In-band SQL Injection is the most common and easiest type of SQL Injection attack to exploit. The attack gives and receives data through the same communication channel. The types of in-band SQL Injection are Error-based SQLi and Union-based SQLi.

Error-based SQLi

This is an in-band SQL Injection technique that relies on database error messages for information about the structure of the database. Since these errors are useful for developers, they must either be hidden or logged access controlled at runtime.

Union-based SQLi

Union-based SQL Injection is a type of In-band SQLi in which the UNION operator merges results from more than one SELECT query into one and returns the data through HTTP response.

Inferential or Blind SQLi

In this type of attack, data will not transfer anywhere. The attacker will send queries that return some response and the attacker will become able to reconstruct information based on the response of the Database. Here are two types of blind SQLi:

Boolean-Based Blind SQLi

In Boolean-based SQL injection, the attacker sends a query that causes the application to return different results depending on whether the query is true or false. By analyzing changes in the HTTP response, the attacker can determine if the query was successful. This attack is usually slow, especially on large databases, as the attacker has to retrieve the data character by character.

Time-Based Blind SQLi

In a time-based SQL injection, the attacker sends a query that forces the database to delay its response for a set period. By observing the response time, the attacker can determine whether the query is true or false, without needing direct data from the database.

Out-of-band SQLi

Out-of-band SQL Injection is rare because it requires specific features to be enabled on the database server used by the web application. This type of attack happens when the attacker can’t use the same channel to send the attack and collect the results. So one has to send data through another medium such as HTTP or DNS. Out-of-band techniques provide an alternative to time-based attacks, especially when server responses are unstable.

Prevention and Mitigation

• Always sanitize user inputs to filter out unwanted malicious inputs. Authentication is considered a good coding practice. Educate developers about the importance of authentication in regards to SQLi.
• Do not block inputs using blacklisting because attackers will always have a way around them. Instead, filter user input strictly through whitelists where only pre-approved data is allowed.
• You don’t have to develop your techniques for protection against SQL Injections. Today’s development tools have incorporated two proven mechanisms: parameterized queries and stored procedures. Use any of these instead.

Social Engineering

Social engineering attacks focus on taking advantage of human psychology instead of looking for technical flaws. Malicious actors may make humans surrender their confidential information. Social engineering attacks usually happen in stages. First, the attacker gathers information about the victim, like weak security spots, then uses tricks like impersonation to gain trust and make the victim share sensitive info or give access to important systems.

Phishing

Phishing is a type of cyber attack in which malicious actors posing as legitimate entities such as banks, online retailers, or even government agencies attempt to trick the target into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, and credit card information, or installing malicious software.

To carry out this type of attack threat actors may use fraudulent emails, text messages, phone calls, or websites.

Types of Phishing

Scammers use various kinds of phishing techniques, and changing technology is constantly evolving the means through which they access people’s information and steal it. Here we will discuss the phishing attacks that can occur exclusively on websites.

Spear Phishing

Phishing that focuses on specific people or organizations in an attempt to obtain private information is known as spear phishing. Attackers utilize the vast amount of information they obtain about their target from social media platforms to craft malicious messages that appear to be from trusted sources. This increases the likelihood that the victim will click on links or download files.

Domain/DNS Spoofing

DNS spoofing, also known as DNS cache poisoning, occurs when attackers alter DNS records to redirect consumers to fraudulent, harmful websites. These websites appear legitimate, deceiving consumers from inputting login information or downloading malicious malware. Attackers may employ a variety of tactics to modify DNS records, such as changing traffic or attacking name servers. The implications include data theft, the installation of ransomware, and increased traffic to the bogus website.

Watering Hole Phishing

A watering hole attack targets certain groups by infecting regularly visited websites. Hackers infect these websites with malware, waiting for visitors to visit and unintentionally download malicious software. These attacks are difficult to detect and frequently include sending consumers emails with links to malicious websites. Watering hole attacks result in financial gain, political reasons, or data theft, and can harm both websites and users.

Social Media Phishing

In social media phishing attackers pose as users who are in some kind of trouble and need the target’s help. Malicious actors can use this ruse to get sensitive information, steal credentials, steal money, or take over their victim’s account.

Prevention and Mitigation

• Educate staff on phishing email detection and run simulated phishing tests to strengthen their awareness and reinforce proper actions.
• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) shall be implemented for critical systems to enhance security.
• Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to protect your domain from being used in phishing attacks, and configure advanced email filters to block suspicious emails.
• Ensure developers follow secure coding standards to prevent vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit. Proper development protocols reduce the risk of phishing-related malware being injected into your systems.

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a web security vulnerability that allows attackers to insert malicious code into a website. It allows hackers to take control of user accounts or potentially the entire program if the user has specific capabilities. Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks happen in two stages. The attacker first injects malicious code into a vulnerable website and then tricks a user into visiting the infected page. When the page loads, the malicious code runs in the user’s browser, allowing the attacker to steal sensitive data like cookies or impersonate the user.

Types of XSS

Here are three main types of Cross-site Scripting.

Stored XSS

Stored XSS occurs when a website or application stores untrusted data and later includes it in web pages without proper security checks. This allows attackers to inject malicious code, which runs when other users view the infected content, like comments or messages. That malicious code is stored permanently on a web page.

Reflection XSS

Reflected XSS occurs when a website takes data from a user’s request and immediately includes it in its response without properly checking it. An attacker can create a harmful link, and if a user clicks on it, the attacker’s code runs in their browser, potentially stealing information or performing malicious actions on the site.

DOM-based XSS

DOM-based XSS happens when a website’s JavaScript code takes data from an unsafe source and uses it in the webpage without properly checking it. For example, if an attacker can control what is entered in a search box and that data is used in the page’s content, they can insert harmful code. When the user visits a page with this malicious data, it executes harmful scripts in their browser.

Prevention and Mitigation

• Train employees to spot phishing and suspicious links to prevent XSS attacks from starting through social engineering.
• Developers must Implement strict input validation and data sanitization to block harmful scripts in forms and web pages.
• Enforce content security policies (CSPs) to control which scripts can run, strengthening defense against XSS and other web threats.

Man-in-the-Middle Attack

A man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack occurs when an attacker secretly intercepts and manipulates communication between two parties who think they are communicating directly. This allows the attacker to steal sensitive information like login credentials or financial data. MitM attacks often target online banking or e-commerce sites by exploiting vulnerabilities in the browser. These attacks involve two steps.  First is intercepting data transfers between a client and server while deceiving both into thinking they are communicating directly. Secondly, decryption of data i.e. decoding data.

Prevention and Mitigation

• Developers must use Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt data in transit between clients and servers, ensuring that intercepted data remains unreadable.
• Encrypt your internet connection to your company servers with a Virtual Private Network to protect your data.
• Don’t open emails from unknown sources that ask for personal information.
• Use attributes like HttpOnly and Secure for cookies to prevent them from being accessed by malicious scripts or sent over unencrypted connections.

Function Injection

A Function Injection attack occurs when an attacker tricks an application into running unintended functions by injecting function names through user input. This allows the attacker to execute harmful code, especially if parameters are added, potentially leading to remote code execution. If successful, the attack can compromise data, break the system, or hide the attacker’s actions, causing serious security risks.

Function Injection Prevention and Mitigation

• Adhere to established secure coding guidelines for your programming language or framework.
• Minimize the use of eval, call_user_func or similar functions that execute arbitrary code, as they can introduce vulnerabilities.
• Restrict application permissions so that even if an attack happens, the damage remains minimal by limiting access to critical functions.

Arbitrary Code Execution

ACE occurs when an attacker discovers a bug in the software or hardware that will allow them to run malicious commands in a system. This is because, sometimes, computers are unable to differentiate between normal input and harmful code. If attackers exploit this weakness, they can send malicious data to steal that data, crash those programs, or take over the system. Some common ways ACE happens are through issues such as deserialization, memory safety errors, or type confusion, which allow hackers to inject bad code.

Prevention and Mitigation

• Always validate and sanitize inputs to block malicious code, and use security tools like antivirus, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems to detect potential threats.
• Keep software, libraries, and systems updated with the latest security patches to close known vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit.
• Limit user privileges to only what’s necessary and encrypt sensitive data to minimize the impact of an arbitrary code execution attack.

Arbitrary File Upload Vulnerability

A common file upload vulnerability happens when a web application doesn’t check the files users upload. If someone uploads a harmful file, like an oversized one, it can let them take control of the server, crash the system, or steal data. Web servers that handle file uploads often assume that the incoming files are okay based on their name, type, and size to save costs. But if they process files that don’t meet these standards, it can lead to unexpected problems and may allow untrusted users to control important server functions.

Prevention and Mitigation

Developers should enforce strict content validation, maintain software updates, and provide redundancy in security mechanisms to avoid these attacks. Without the right protective measures, hackers might take advantage of these flaws to steal confidential information, launch additional assaults from compromised servers, or cause denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.

Denial of Service (DOS) Attack

Denial of service attacks are attempts to make users unable to access a machine or a website by sending too much traffic or by exploiting the vulnerabilities of a single source. Unlike most cyber attacks, which involve theft or corruption of data, DoS attacks make it unbearable for businesses to continue running systems, thus expensive and reputation damaging. There are several forms of DoS attacks. The ones include UDP floods, where the system is flooded with data, and TCP SYN floods, in which the connections are kept open till resources get exhausted on the server. An early detection of DoS attacks can help minimize their impact. Thus, look for signs such as sudden spikes in traffic or slow servers. The hardest DoS type to stop and recover from, though, is the DDoS.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS)

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a type of cyberattack where multiple computers or machines work together to flood a targeted server or resource with overwhelming traffic. This simultaneous attack can easily overwhelm the server, making it crash, corrupt data, or exhaust its resources, thus one cannot access the website or service. Tracing sources for DDoS attacks is relatively difficult as they often come from several remote locations. These attacks are launched speedily and cause vast damage before the defense mechanisms are built.

Prevention and Mitigation

Denial-of-service (DoS) as well as DDOS attacks pose a significant threat to businesses as they can render essential services and websites unavailable, leading to lost revenue, damaged customer relationships, and potential reputational harm. So here are the instructions to prevent this type of attack.

• Implement deep packet inspection and web application firewalls to block harmful traffic before it reaches your servers.
• Set rate limits to control incoming requests and prevent server overload.
• Use anycast networks to spread traffic across multiple servers, reducing the risk of overwhelm.
• Create and regularly update a clear incident response plan to quickly handle DoS attacks and minimize downtime.

URL Interpretation Attack

The URL interpretation attack is an attack in which the hacker exploits the users’ trust as they are redirected from the actual website to the malicious site. This can be done mostly by phishing emails or with the help of the harmful URLs added to the website’s codes. The goal is to trick users into entering personal information on fake websites that look legitimate. These types of attacks are increasing and may significantly impact the users as well as the businesses.

Types of URL Interpretation

There are three different forms of URL redirection vulnerabilities you might come across

Parameter-Based URL Redirection

This is when the destination of a URL is controlled by the parameters in the URL itself. For example, if there’s a parameter like “target” in a URL, it may easily carry its users to a harmful site if not handled correctly. Always check for unusual parameters in your URLs.

Session Restoration URL Redirection

This is a function whereby the session created by a user is saved into a URL, which enables users to come back later to the same session. It is very convenient; however, it can be manipulated by hackers so that they send users to unwarranted sites or harm them.

DOM Based URL Redirection

In this type, the attack happens within the victim’s web browser without changing the actual web page. It uses client-side scripts to redirect users to malicious sites. Attackers can manipulate JavaScript to trick users into clicking on dangerous links.

Prevention and Mitigation

Website owners should be vigilant and should utilize cybersecurity tools to scan their sites, and ensure they can react fast when such an attack occurs. URL interpretation can be prevented by following these instructions.

• Regularly check for vulnerabilities, apply server updates, and use strong security measures to prevent URL manipulation attacks.
• Limit access to sensitive pages, turn off directory browsing, and remove unnecessary files and directories to improve security.
• Ensure accurate interpretation of dynamic pages, including “ .bak backup files.”
• Protect folders with sensitive information, ensure only secure connections (HTTPS) are allowed, and get rid of unused scripts to maintain the integrity of your digital assets.

Directory Traversal Vulnerability

A directory traversal, also known as path traversal, is a web application security vulnerability that allows attackers to access restricted folders and files within a server. Hackers can navigate the file system by changing the input parameters or file paths and access sensitive information located outside of the main application area by modifying special sequences. This type of attack can be very harmful, as it can allow unauthorized users to see, edit, or even run files on the server, potentially compromising its security.

Prevention and Mitigation

•  Avoid using direct user input for file system calls; use indexes instead of full names and restrict access to the file path.
• Only accept known safe values from users to prevent malicious input; normalize any necessary user input before using it in file operations.
• Use techniques like chrooted jails and access policies to control where files can be accessed or saved, enhancing overall security.

Information Disclosure Vulnerability

Information disclosure, also known as information leakage, happens when a website accidentally provides sensitive information to a user or a malicious attacker. Such sensitive information can range from the personal data of other users to any business information, and technical knowledge about the website. This may happen through several channels, such as poor settings of the website, poor responses or designs that reveal sensitive information, and leaving comments in the code as a developer. Such leakages can provide attackers with critical insights that help them for further attacks on the system.

Prevention and Mitigation

A breach due to information disclosure can severely damage a business’s reputation, leading to a loss of customer trust and potential financial repercussions. Business owners must focus on such vulnerabilities to any loss.

• Hide technical details in response headers and error messages. Set correct MIME types and disable directory listing.
• Implement strict access controls for resource requests and avoid hardcoding sensitive data like credentials.
• Handle exceptions properly, returning generic messages for unauthorized access or non-existent resources.
• Validate user inputs effectively and ensure default responses for forbidden actions.

Session Hijacking Attack

In this attack, a hacker steals or manipulates a session token, which acts as a secure connection between the user and a website. Once they get the token, they can pretend to be the user and access their information or perform actions in their place.

There are three main ways hackers can hijack sessions:

• Brute Force – The hacker keeps guessing different session IDs until they find the right one.
• Calculate – Sometimes session IDs are created predictably, so the hacker can figure them out.
• Steal – Using various methods, the hacker can directly steal the session ID.

Prevention and Mitigation

• Use strong passwords and multifactor authentication to secure accounts.
• Share session IDs only with trusted sources and avoid sharing links that may contain them.
• Use a VPN to protect your traffic and make it harder for attackers to steal session IDs.

Insider Threats

Insider threats are cybersecurity risks that come from individuals within a company, such as employees, contractors, or partners. These people have access to important information and resources, and they can accidentally or intentionally cause harm to the organization. It’s important to manage these risks to prevent insider attacks.

Insider threats are categorized as:

• Malicious insiders, who intentionally harm the organization, like leaking or deleting data.
• Negligent insiders, whose unintentional actions, like downloading malware, put the company at risk.
• Unsuspecting insiders, who unknowingly become targets when their credentials are stolen by cybercriminals.

Prevention and Mitigation

• To proactively monitor insider misuse and possible hazards, establish security regulations and implement threat detection programs.
• To safeguard sensitive data, use multi-factor authentication and least privilege access rules in your architecture.
• To stop abuse and illegal access, keep an eye out for unusual activity and deactivate any inactive accounts.

Supply Chain Attack

When a criminal hacks a reliable third-party vendor in order to get access to a larger company, it’s known as a supply chain attack. These attacks depend on the trust that exists between companies and their suppliers by spreading phishing emails, infecting shared infrastructure with malware, or injecting malicious code into software that is used by multiple companies. Both software and hardware can be the target of supply chain attacks, but software supply chains are particularly weak since they frequently rely on off-the-shelf parts, open-source code, and third-party APIs. If even one dependency on a widely used software is compromised, then all of its users are in danger.

Prevention and Mitigation

• Implement advanced email security solutions that can detect phishing attempts and compromised vendor accounts, while regularly monitoring for unusual email behavior and patterns.
• Regularly evaluate the security practices of third-party vendors and limit access to sensitive information based on the principle of least privilege to minimize potential risks.
• Provide ongoing training for employees to recognize phishing and social engineering tactics, and develop a comprehensive incident response plan to address potential supply chain attacks effectively.

Importance of Web Application Firewalls (WAF)

A Web Application Firewall is one form of defense that scans, filters and blocks malicious HTTP traffic from and to a web application. WAF can prevent any kind of attack including SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and DDoS, by sending HTTP requests and blocking the malicious traffic from reaching the server.

WAFs act as a protective shield between your web application and potential threats through:

• Filtering traffic according to set rules.
• Protection against common web-based attacks such as SQL injections, XSS, and malicious bots.
• Real-time monitoring of website traffic for potential threats.
• Protection against DDoS attacks by rate-limiting incoming traffic.
• Shields the web app server from potentially harmful clients.

Cloud-based WAFs

Cloud-based WAFs are a cost-effective and easy-to-implement option, often requiring just a simple DNS change for setup. Users pay monthly or annually for the service, which includes automatic updates to protect against new threats without extra effort. However, the downside is that users rely on a third party for management, which means some features may not be fully visible to them.

Conclusion

In today’s digital environment, robust cybersecurity measures are required to protect sensitive data and maintain operational integrity. By employing effective coding strategies and state-of-the-art security solutions, businesses can significantly lower the risks connected with various assaults and increase their overall resilience.