In the last decade, millions of businesses and organizations have taken to the Web as a cost-effective way to interact with customers and conduct business. This includes web-based applications that collect additional info and store data. This includes information about customers that is submitted via content management systems or online shopping carts. inquiry forms or login fields.
Because these applications are connected to the Internet and can be accessed from anywhere in the world, they are at risk for attacks on security that exploit weaknesses in the application or its supporting infrastructure. For example, SQL injection attacks (which exploit weaknesses in the database) can result in compromised databases that contain sensitive information. Attackers can also exploit an advantage gained through hacking a Web application to identify and access other, more vulnerable systems on your network.
Other common Web attack types include Cross Site Scripting attacks (XSS), which exploit vulnerabilities in the web server to inject malicious code into web pages, and which then executes as an infected code in the victim’s browser. This enables attackers to obtain confidential information or to redirect users to websites that are phishing. XSS attacks are prevalent on blogs, message boards and online forums.
Hackers band together to overwhelm websites by sending more requests than the site can handle. This can cause the page to slow or even shut down completely, which interferes with its ability to handle requests, rendering it unusable for everyone. DDoS attacks can be devastating for small businesses, like local restaurants or bakeries that rely on their websites for operations.