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 the attacker pretends to be another person to gain access to sensitive information or perform malicious activities like taking credit card numbers or other personal information. Web attacks are typically characterized by SQLi (Structured Query Language Injection), XSS (cross-site scripting) and file upload attacks.
In a SQLi attack, hackers input custom Structured Query Language (SQL) commands into the field on a website or in a web app to access private information stored on the database server that is backend. In an XSS attack, hackers insert malicious code into the web application or website that the victim’s browser automatically executes without verification or encoding. The attack can steal session information, display illegal text or images or redirect the victim to a phishing website.
The best way to protect against a cyber attack is to conduct regular vulnerability scans and apply patches to your website, its web servers, and any underlying databases. It is also recommended to develop an incident response strategy so that should an attack occur it is quickly recognized and handled. Also, make sure you know how to detect a web attack through warning indications such as slowing down of the network or intermittent website shutdowns.