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 wherein the attacker impersonates another person to gain access to sensitive information or carry out malicious activities like the theft of credit card numbers or other personal data. Web attacks are typically characterized by SQLi (Structured Query Language Injection), XSS (cross-site scripting) and file upload attack.
In a SQLi attack, hackers input customized Structured Query Language commands into the web application or website field to steal private data stored on the backend database server. Similar to an XSS attack hackers insert malicious code into websites or web apps that the victim’s browser executes without confirmation or encodes. The attack can steal session information, display illegal text or images or redirect the victim to a fraudulent website.
The best way to defend against cyber-attacks is to perform regular vulnerability scans, and apply patches to your website as well as its web servers, and any databases that are involved in the attack. It is also recommended to establish an incident response plan to ensure that if an attack occurs it can be swiftly identified and responded to. You must also be able to detect web attacks by recognizing warning signs such as site slowdowns or intermittent shutdowns.