Call attackers a killjoy if you want, but one thing is certain—they aren’t here to play, and you have to be careful with them. Otherwise, they’d compromise your web application and have you just where they want you to be.
It’s up to you to secure your web application with the right practices.
What Is Web Application Security?
When a valuable belonging of yours is at risk, what do you do? The most logical thing is to secure it and keep it out of harm’s way. The same applies to web application security.
The security on your web application, or the absence of it, determines the level of risks that you are prone to. If your application, its services, and servers are in secure hands, cyber threats can’t penetrate them easily. The reverse is the case when there’s little or no resistance; it’ll be a free flow for attackers to troop in and have a filled day at your expense.
The web applications of today are nothing like they used to be in the past. Nowadays, web applications are more interactive than ever. The older Web 1.0 was a basic web application with lots of texts and little or no channels for user engagement. Although it didn’t offer much in terms of user engagement, it posed little or no cyber threats.
It’s a different story with the evolved web 2.0, which allows users to engage with the website by entering their personal information.
Why You Need an Effective Web Application Security
Hackers thrive in the presence of sensitive information on a network. They use malicious techniques to gain unauthorized access to the information that users input in a web application. It suffices to say that if you are using web 2.0, you have to prioritize your cybersecurity.
Let’s look at some of the reasons why an effective web application is necessary.
1. Sensitive Data
Data is an invaluable currency in today’s digital world. If you don’t acknowledge the worth of your sensitive data and safeguard it accordingly, cyberattackers will teach you the hard way. They’ll steal it and then make you pay for it.
Sensitive data can be your own personal information as an individual. And if you run a business, it could include the personal information of your clients or customers. Having their personal information compromised on your system is a big dent in the reputation of your business.
2. Revenue
If you have an active website, it’s part of your assets. The interaction of your audiences on your website brings you sales or helps you close deals. If there’s an attack on your system and your website isn’t working, the downtime will make you lose some money.
In the case of a ransomware attack where the attacker hijacks your system and demands that you pay a ransom before they grant you back access to it, not only will you suffer a downtime, you’ll also lose some money if you make the payment.
3. Regulatory Compliance
User privacy is now such a big deal. It’s a major requirement for all businesses operating on the web to protect the privacy of their audiences. Failure to do this, you’ll face the consequences as stipulated by the law.
The absence of a strong cybersecurity framework on your web application can expose it to cyber threats, compromising users’ privacy. If this happens, it’s no longer about you or your business. You’ll have to answer to the law.
The 6 Best Web Application Security Practices
Although the technology of your web application is vital in its security, it isn’t the only component. The policies and procedures that you implement are also part of the security as they determine how your network is used.
The following web application practices will help you create a more secure system.
1. Conduct Regular Security Audits
If you are aware of your cybersecurity needs, there’s a chance that you have implemented some cybersecurity measures. One way to ensure that the measures that you have put in place are effective is to conduct regular security audits. In doing so, you are positioned to detect vulnerabilities or cyber threats around your web application.
While it’s okay to carry out the security audit in-house, you should consider engaging a third-party specialist to do it. Besides having grounded expertise for the task, they also have the advantage of not being familiar with your system. That way, they can see the complete picture without any influence.
2. Adopt Real-Time Security Monitoring
A web application security audit helps you to identify vulnerabilities in your system. Such vulnerabilities may have been around for long, and if you don’t perform an audit early enough, they’ll escalate.
Adopting real-time security monitoring helps you to keep an eye on your network around the clock. If any issue arises, you can tackle it immediately with no breathing space to degenerate.
Consider implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to cater to the real-time monitoring needs of your system. It puts up strong resistance against XSS attacks, SQL injections, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, etc.
3. Encrypt Your Data
The high engagement on web 2.0 means that visitors to your website can enter their personal information for their browsing needs. It’s your responsibility to secure your visitors’ confidential information from attackers who would want to access it.
Encrypting your web application secures the information shared from the user’s browser to your server. Make sure that the data is not only encrypted at rest but also in transit. You can use SSL/TLS encryption to secure interactions of your web application through the HTTPS protocol.
4. Uphold Standard Login Practices
Web application security tools like firewalls and scanners are effective in detecting cyber threats. But sometimes, they are unable to pick up threats until they become significant.
Implementing standard login practices will keep you informed about what happened, how it happened, and when it happened. You can only have such security details when you adopt effective logging tools that can provide the history of an incident. If for any reason you suffer an attack, you can trace it to its root case to prevent a recurrence.
5. Cultivate Strong Password Culture
In the past, if an unauthorized user was unable to guess your password, they could hardly gain access. But with a growing number of hacking techniques, figuring out a password isn’t so difficult. It becomes a matter of the password’s complexity.
Cultivating a strong password culture encourages you to create passwords that are hard to figure out. Ensure that you have a unique password for every account you have online. Rather than using single words as your passwords, use phrases with a combination of numerals and characters.
Creating and remembering complex passwords can be tasking. You can make it easier for yourself by adopting a password managing tool to help you with generating, storing, and securing your passwords.
6. Provide Web Application Security Training
Beyond all the measures that you put in place to secure your web application, what you know and how you implement what you know is the highlight of your web application security.
If you aren’t the only one on your team, how the others engage with your web application can either make or mar its security. Is there a healthy cybersecurity culture among your team? As the owner or project manager, it’s your responsibility to bring everyone up to speed on healthy web application practices.
Focusing on the Benefits of Having Stronger Cybersecurity
The thought of suffering a cyber attack can be overwhelming. But rather than let that get in the way of reaching the full potential of your web application, you can see it as an opportunity to create a stronger web application.
Attackers aren’t the only ones who can breach your network security. Sometimes, an honest mistake by you or someone on your team could compromise your network.
When you cultivate the right web application practices, your network will be secured in the event of a security breach, regardless of where it comes from.
