Web applications are the backbone of modern business, adding to creativity and streamlining the user experience. This creates the need to build a secure web application, services, and data transfer with the potential threats and vulnerabilities of the digital world. Many issues related to web applications focus on manipulating user inputs through web forms and machine inputs through APIs. The increasing dependence of businesses on apps makes web application security important.
Therefore, in this blog, we will discuss best practices and expert insights to develop a secure web application against common threats and vulnerabilities with the help of tools and resources. Further, we will explore the reasons for securing these web applications.
What is web application security?
Web application security is a crucial aspect of businesses’ increased digital presence. Simply put, it is mainly the process of securing web servers, services, and online applications, including APIs, from severe cyber threats. A proper synchronized strategy is crucial to secure web applications, safeguard them from breaches and hacks, and maintain consumer trust.
This mainly includes deploying tool combinations, techniques, and best practices, such as involving firewalls, executing SSL encryption, and inculcating regular checks for threats and secure web development.
You can protect your web application by adopting certain measures, such as Web Application Firewalls, multi-factor authentication, and cookie validation to authenticate the user and the app’s privacy status. You can hire an IT support management company that can handle all the tasks to ensure application security.
Importance of securing your web application
A Secure web application is not a luxury but a necessity to ensure the safety of sensitive data. Following are the reasons why securing your web application is so important:
- Widespread use: Most companies have websites to enhance their online presence. This makes the application more vulnerable to attackers. This digital world needs strict security practices to keep your site free from any threats.
- Data protection: The apps contain sensitive data that is important for the user or users currently using them. That data needs to be protected from unauthorized hackers. Adopting the best security measures for your web application can ensure this. It is also essential to develop secure mobile apps.
- Reputational damage: If your app is prone to cyber threats, it can damage your business. Consumers will doubt your reliability. So, adopting an organized strategy is important to avoid harm to your company’s reputation.
- Financial loss: Data related to bank account details, passwords, and PINs can result in financial loss for the app design and development company and the user. These losses are quite heavy for the company to bear.
- Loss beyond financial losses: These breaches and security threat cases are sometimes long-lasting and affect the apps’ workings in the long run. These effects gradually lead to the downfall of the app.
- Brute-force attacks: Brute-force attacks are the most common security threats, in which hackers crack passwords, encryption keys, and login credentials. You need to secure your apps to protect them from these threats.
General web app security policy
There are different web apps available in the market. Every web app requires different security methods. However, every app must adopt universal methods for a secure web application. Following is the general web app security policy:
Strong passwords: It is crucial to have a robust password for your custom web apps. These are the most basic measures you can adopt to ensure app security. Your password should be a mix of upper-case, lower-case, and special characters and at least ten characters long. In addition, interval reminders for easy passwords can also help to test website security.
Two-factor authentication (2FA): It is crucial for securing apps. It double-checks the user’s identity when opening the site on any other device or platform. If an unauthorized user gets the passwords, a second verification step, like OTP sent on the user’s phone, will prevent malicious users from accessing the site. This is one of the secure web development trends.
Update passwords at intervals: Users must update passwords over time, as strong passwords also become vulnerable for ensuring web application security. This particular measure and supervising unusual activity can prevent unauthorized access.
Limited login attempts: Limit the attempts to log in to your app. For instance, phones and laptops have a limit of three attempts. After that, the device will be locked, and you will receive a warning notification.
Automatic logout: Optimize your applications so that after some time of inactivity, the app will log out from the device itself. This will protect the device from unauthorized access when it is lost or unattended.
Best practices to secure your web application
There are some best practices for a secure web application that complement each other and must be used together. The following are the best practices to execute to secure your web application:
Analyze the importance of app security (AppSec): You must be aware of the importance of web security. You must secure web apps for two primary reasons: industry compliances and the evolving threat landscape.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) sets the financial sector’s compliances, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets health sector regulations.
Implement SDLC (Secure Software Development Life Cycle): SSDLC (Secure Software Development Life Cycle)focuses on securing the app throughout development. It covers security requirements in development, regular monitoring, web application security testing, and security controls.
Update and patch applications regularly: Keeping the app updated and patched is crucial. You must be aware of potential threats, and to ensure this, you must conduct regular security measures. You can subscribe to a mailing system that regularly informs you about unauthorized access or potential vulnerabilities.
Inculcate a patch management process that checks, monitors, and tests current patches. You can use WAF security for these practices.
Application audit and monitoring: The most important and effective measures would be conducting security audits regularly and monitoring the apps on time. Employ web application security tools like Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions, and Application Performance Monitoring (APM). Implement periodic audits to analyze the efficiency of your security measures.
Record the results: In a document, record your results after performing security audits and monitoring. This will help you understand the loopholes and work on them accordingly.
Application Security Testing: Two methods can be implemented to secure web applications: static and dynamic test web application security. Static application security testing is included before the web app deployment. It deals with vulnerabilities like SQL injection, Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), and cross-site scripting (XSS).
Then comes dynamic security testing, which is used in these apps’ testing phase. It can also detect runtime issues like misconfigured servers. You can also use web application penetration testing.
Generate a threat model: The most crucial step in dealing with these threats is understanding them and creating a strategy or model with all the measures to deal with them. To create a threat model, first recognize the assets and their value, then highlight the potential vulnerabilities. Assess the similarities between the threats and, lastly, implement the mitigation strategies to deal with them.
Leverage encrypted data: Encrypt your transit and rested data to prevent any potential issues by using data encryption methods. Execute protocols like Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) to avoid transmitting sensitive data.
Common web application vulnerabilities and threats
The secure development lifecycle mentioned above is designed to address the type of threat or danger the app faces. Following are the common web application vulnerabilities and threats:
- SQL injection: Structured Query Language is employed to manage and control data on applications that hackers devise to get off their SQL commands in the database.
- Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF): It is a type of attack that forces the victim to perform unintended actions on their own web application.
- Cross-Site Scripting: It is the type where the attacker attacks the vulnerable apps to aim its stored data.
To survive in this digital age, you must have a secure web application that promotes your business. With advanced technologies, threats like hacking, breaches, and confidential data leaks adversely affect your company’s reputation and financial assets.
To avoid these kinds of threats and dangers, you must adopt some of the best practices, tools, and technologies available in the market. Analyze the viruses and threats and then implement security measures in your web applications.
Fastcurve is a leading IT company providing web app development and security services. You can contact them to develop a secure web application, mobile app design, deployment, and safety purposes to avoid unauthorized access or harm to data.
FAQ
How to secure a web application?
To secure a web application, you must adopt the following practices:
- Authentication,
- Encryption,
- Input validation,
- Regular updates,
- Security testing and
- Password policy
What tools are best for web application security testing?
Many tools are available for web application security testing; soem of them are Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP), W3af, Spectral, Checkmarx SAST, and Burp Suite Professional.
What are common web application security vulnerabilities?
Some common web application vulnerabilities that harm the apps are injection, which includes SQL, command, CRLF, or LDAP injections, Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR), broken access control, and authentication and authorization failures.
What are your first three steps when securing a web application?
The most important first three steps when securing a web application:
- Encryption of the data.
- Strong passwords
- Regular updates
