As per Security magazine, in every 39 seconds, a cyber attack takes place around the world.
We understand that your web app data is precious and you cannot afford to lose it at any cost. Therefore, instead of just depending upon security products, look out for other security practices.
In today’s blog, we are going to talk about various security practices to offer extra protection to your web application. Here we go:
Best Web Application Security Practices to Follow
When it comes to web applications, security is the most important aspect. You cannot risk the drainage of your customer data. That’s why improving your web app’s security becomes important. But do you know how to do that?
Don’t worry, we have got you covered. Below we have shared the best security practices for web applications. They are efficient and will enhance the security levels in no time. Go have a look!
Classify All The Potential Entries For Hackers
9 out of 10 people use at least one software for their web application’s security. Do you follow the same approach? Well, there’s nothing wrong with that. However, you should work on improving the efficiency of your security software.
Some areas of your software are more exposed to data leakage than others. The reason could be because they handle data transactions. This vulnerability can cost you a lot if even a small amount of data gets leaked. To eliminate the risk, you should divide areas of your software into three types. Here are they:
Critical Modules: Include sections of your software that are most vulnerable to the attacks. For example, checkout pages and login screens
Serious Modules: It involves all the areas of your software that are used for storing sensitive data about your customers and company.
Normal Modules: Shortlist all the sections of your website that require constant checkups and a high level of attention.
Install a Firewall
Do you know what a web app firewall is? It’s basically an HTTP traffic filter that acts as a security barrier between users and website servers. The objective of the firewall is to eliminate the entry of all the malicious requests inside the databases and infiltrate them.
A firewall is one of the best and most efficient guards of your network. It analyses the incoming traffic and protects the entry of viruses and anything suspicious. The best part about web app firewalls is – there’s no need for developers to make any changes in their source codes. This makes them easy to use.
If you have the traditional firewall installed in your web app, you should know that they don’t work efficiently. They cannot detect various types of attacks that are being made by today’s advanced hackers. This decreases your web app’s security. Therefore, for maximum security, you can use advanced firewalls. They will protect your web app from cross-site scripting and SQL injection attacks.
Encrypt Every Data
Another great web app security practice is – encryption of your web app data. You can use basic technologies such as HSTS and HTTPS encryptions, however, do not just stop there. You can also consider implementing SSL encryptions for all your customer and company data that travels through servers.
HTTPS is an amazing technology, offering high protection against malware attacks. However, it’s not efficient if someone has direct access to your servers. Therefore, to keep your information secure, even when someone has access to your servers, try hashing and encrypting all the data. This way, you can ensure no data drainage, making your web app’s goodwill high.
Always Check Your Processes And Policies
It’s important to work on creating a proper web application security strategy as a part of your whole cybersecurity plan. It includes:
Adopting to a Strong Cybersecurity Framework.
While it’s a great idea to build a cybersecurity framework on your own. It’s still an ideal choice to start with existing frameworks that fulfills industry standards. Here are some of those frameworks:
ASVS: Basically used for the testing security controls in web applications
CIS Controls: This framework is by the CIS (Center of Internet Security) used for efficienty cyber defense. It’s designed for protecting enterprises and websites from common cybersecurity attacks.
NIST: It’s one of the most preferred framework, by MNCs, for information security systems
ISO 27001: Guidelines from the ISO for ISMS (information security management systems)
Other than working on framework, the next tactic that comes under “Always check your processes and policies” practice is auditing your web assets. Here’s a detailed description.
Practice Auditing Your Website Assets.
It is very common to forget to take care of legacy web assets, especially in big organizations. However, if your web assets are being neglected, it opens a gateway for cyberattacks. That’s why it becomes important to audit your website assets from time to time. Moreover, consider deleting all those assets you use the least.
Integrate And Automate All Your Security Tools.
Cyber Security attacks are increasing rapidly. Fortunately, we have access to numerous automation solutions and tools to help you with your web app security. Besides, manual tests have their own benefits, but there’s no need to solely depend upon manual penetration testing and manual scanning.
Here’s an interesting thing – today, cybersecurity tools are designed to easily integrate with each other. The best example is the automated vulnerability scanners can conveniently integrate with CI/CD solutions and various other issue trackers.
High-end bot detection systems, available these days, automatically detect and block malicious bot activities. They can also come together with your SOC/SIEM tools, server logs and various other applications that can read HTTP requests.
Final Words
If you want your target audience to trust your website with their personal data, you need to ensure proper security. By following the practices we have shared with you today, you can easily improve your web application’s security. Try them out now!
Also, if you find this blog informative, make sure to share it with all your acquaintances who own web applications. Let them know about tactics to enhance web app security.
