Web Application Security - Check your site for Web Application Vulnerabilities

Web application security is one of the aspects most at risk from the adoption of web-based technologies for conducting business online. While web applications have enabled organizations to connect seamlessly with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders; web application vulnerabilities have also exposed a multitude of previously unknown security risks.

If web application security is not taken care of, meaning that web application vulnerability is allowed to happen, then not only your entire database of sensitive information is at serious risk, but your website can become the launch site of criminal activities such as hosting phishing sites or used to transfer illegal content.

Some hackers take advantage of this lack of web application security from web application vulnerabilities such as SQL Injection or Cross-Site Scripting and may maliciously inject code within vulnerable web applications to trick users and redirect them towards phishing sites.

Recent research shows that 75% of cyber attacks are done at web application level. Hence ensuring web application security is crucial.

 

  • Websites and related web applications must be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide the required service to customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders
  • Firewalls and SSL provide no web application security nor protection against web application hacking, simply because access to the website has to be made public – ports 80 and 443 must remain open to allow the web application retrieve, deliver and update the data residing within the database servers
  • Web applications often have direct access to backend data such as customer databases and, hence, control valuable data and are much more difficult to secure
  • Most web applications are custom-made and, therefore, involve a lesser degree of testing than off-the-shelf software. Consequently, custom applications are more susceptible to attack 

 

Acunetix Web Application Vulnerability Scanner
Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner ensures website security by automatically checking for SQL injection, Cross site scripting and other web application vulnerabilities. It checks password strength on authentication pages and automatically audits shopping carts, forms, dynamic content and other web applications. As the scan is being completed, the software produces detailed reports that pinpoint where vulnerabilities exist.

Take a product tour or download the evaluation version today!

Articles on Web Security

Keeping Web Hacking at bay with Acunetix - How to avoid a Hacker Attack on your website
Cross Site Scripting - XSS - The Underestimated Exploit
Microsoft UK Events Website Hacked
The JavaScript Engine of Acunetix WVS
PCI Compliance (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)
Web Applications: What are they? What of them?
The True Nature of Web Application Security: The Role and Function of Black Box Scanners
Web hacking: An underestimated threat
Ajax security: Are AJAX applications vulnerable to hack attacks?
PHP / SQL Security - Part 6

More Articles

White Papers on Web Security

Why File Upload Forms are a major security threat
Finding the right web application scanner; why black box scanning is not enough
The Payment Card Industry Compliance - Securing both Merchant and Customer data.
Web Services - The Technology and its Security Concerns
Are AJAX Applications Vulnerable to Hack Attacks? The importance of Securing AJAX Web Applications
Auditing Your Web Site Security with Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner
The Importance of Web Application Scanning
SQL & PHP Security by Andrew J. Bennieston

More White Papers