Contact us anytime to know more — Abhishek P., Founder & CFO CISIN
Web applications have become an indispensable component of life and business. By simplifying work processes and helping individuals maximize output with limited resources, web apps allow businesses and individuals alike to streamline operations and get more done than ever.
- No longer must they store all of this paperwork carefully organized.
- Communication no longer needs to take place via physical mail.
- Most marketing is now conducted online.
- Customer service now directs users directly to websites instead of 1-800 numbers for customer assistance.
Web applications enable businesses to reach an array of clients and customers easily. Web apps provide an excellent opportunity to engage customers directly, interact with them effectively, provide product support services, and retain business from them.
Web applications play an increasingly vital role in our daily lives and transmit a wealth of sensitive data through various online channels - so it is imperative that we take measures to protect and secure this sensitive data.
No web technology has proven invulnerable to any threats. Every day, new threats arise that require adjustments or improvements in both countermeasures and general security practices.
Developers should abide by these guidelines in order to improve the quality of web-based apps.
These 20 Tips Will Help Developers Protect Their Information
Web App Security: How to Maintain it During Development
Be sure to keep your web application secure during application development.
Be Paranoid: Require Injection & Input Validation (User Input Is Not Your Friend)
By default, all input should be treated as potentially hostile until proven otherwise. Input validation ensures that only properly-formed data passes through a Web application workflow process - helping prevent bad or corrupted information from entering and potentially disrupting downstream components.
- Here are a few examples of input validation:
- Validation of Data Type (to check that all parameters meet specific types, such as text or numeric).
- Validating Data Format (evaluates that data conforms with schemas such as JSON or XML).
- Validating data values (ensuring parameters fall within acceptable ranges and lengths).
Input validation and injection prevention involve more than meets the eye, so always take care to use both semantic and syntactic approaches when validating inputs.
Syntactic verification ensures correct information syntax (SSNs, birth dates, currencies, or whole numbers), while semantic validation validates values within their specific business context.
Encrypt your Data
Encryption, which involves encoding data to protect it from unauthorized access, is the simplest form of encryption.
At the same time, the process does not prevent interference during transmission of data transmission but instead obscures content for those not authorized to view it.
Encryption can protect sensitive data not only in transit but also stored on databases and other storage devices.
Web Services and APIs should have plans in place for authenticating those who access them and for encrypting any sensitive data stored between services - hackers love an unprotected web service with increasingly sophisticated algorithms capable of finding them!
Use Exception Management
An effective exception management policy is another security measure focused on app development/continuous development.
When faced with system failures, you should display only generic messages to users; any more specific system messages could potentially reveal potentially hazardous entities that have invaded.
Think about it from a security perspective: There are only three general outcomes when considering all possibilities:
- Authorize or deny this operation.
- Handle an Error
In the event of an error or exception, typically reject the operation and avoid accidentally authorizing transactions.
A secure application should also ensure no operations are accidentally approved accidentally; should an ATM fail, you would rather it displays a friendly, informative message rather than spill money onto the ground.
Authentication, role management & access control are all available through the application
When creating a web app, it is crucial that effective account management techniques, such as password enforcers and secure password recovery mechanisms, are put into place.
Multi-factor authentication should also be considered; you could require users to re authenticate when accessing more sensitive features.
As part of designing a web-based app, it is vitally important that each user is given only enough privileges to fully utilize the system.
By adhering to this principle, you can decrease the chance of intruders crashing the application (or platform altogether) or having their activities negatively affect other apps on the platform.
Other authentication and access controls include password expiration and account lockouts where applicable, with SSL also used to prevent passwords and account information from being transmitted in plain sight.
Don't Forget Hosting/Service-Focused Measures
To keep your web application safe, it is important to have a configuration management system at the service level that follows the same security principles as those used in the development team.
Avoid security misconfigurations
Today's web server management software contains endless potential risks of disruption.
- Unauthorized files/directories will be served.
- Web Servers do not delete temporary or default accounts automatically.
- Unlock all ports on your web server without needing to do it manually.
- Utilizing old/defunct libraries
- Utilization of obsolete security protocols
- Digital certificates will soon expire, making their use obsolete.
Document the process for setting up new websites, as well as the servers and software to host these new domains.
Modular web server functions offer more control over security and resources, which in turn can make your applications less secure if not managed with caution.
Take special caution when managing high-risk features and security options.
Implement HTTPS and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS
Previously, we discussed encryption from a development-centric viewpoint. However, preventative measures should also be implemented, and HTTPS (SSL, Secure Sockets Layer) encryption can provide this protection at the service level.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) technology enables websites and browsers to establish an encrypted connection, protecting the privacy of data that passes between the browser and the server.
SSL, the industry standard for online transaction protection, is widely utilized by millions of websites across the internet.
As it can cause issues if files are referenced directly over HTTP, we strongly suggest you implement SSL for all resources, not only stylesheets and JavaScript files.
Include Auditing & Logging
Auditing and logging are crucial at the server level, too. Many content-serving applications such as IIS (Internet Information Services) include this functionality to easily track various activity-related data.
Logs provide evidence of suspicious activities while simultaneously holding users accountable by tracking their actions.
Activity Logging doesn't require extensive setup - most web servers come equipped with this feature already built-in! Use it to track user actions and review any application errors that were missed in the code.
Logs are only necessary for specific instances, and therefore handling log data efficiently is absolutely crucial in these circumstances.
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Quality Assurance and Testing
Utilizing a third-party service specializing in penetration testing or vulnerability scanning to complement your own testing is often recommended, and these specialized services may even prove very cost-effective.
When possible, it is always advisable to be extra vigilant and not solely rely on internal quality assurance processes for finding every flaw in the web applications you utilize.
Supplementary testing could uncover flaws that had not yet been discovered by other testing techniques.
An organized, reproducible process is crucial to ensure security upgrades and testing go smoothly. Furthermore, an inventory of your web applications and their locations should also be kept; otherwise, it can be quite frustrating trying to fix security bugs with code libraries without knowing which web applications actually use them.
Your web applications must be free from vulnerabilities or breaches that violate PCI or HIPAA standards, so take great care in designing them to adhere to them.
Consult an experienced company when possible so as to thwart attacks while adhering to all rules set by governing agencies.
Stay Proactive and on Top of the Bad Guys
Cybersecurity is a race against time for me, so when discussing it with others, I use military terms and analogies.
Threats constantly evolve with new tactics being created every day by cyber criminals; therefore, online businesses must remain vigilant to combat them in order to remain ahead of any potential attackers out there.
Proactivity is essential to crafting an effective cybersecurity plan.
Prioritizing high-risk applications is one way of protecting sensitive web applications. Maintaining an inventory of web apps used by or offered to your company's users may make this task simpler.
As web applications increasingly play an integral part in meeting our business needs, the threat from sophisticated adversaries has become more present.
Your approach and plan should change accordingly.
Though no organization can hope to thwart all attacks, building your intelligence can strengthen your defenses and increase the force of protection.
Be sure that both leadership and resources are fully engaged to build an active defense that detects and responds effectively to security risks and hazards.
Your strategy for navigating the web security landscape must adapt constantly.
The OWASP Top Ten
I covered this topic more extensively in an earlier blog post. It's essential that we remember this list; for those unfamiliar, OWASP's Top Ten List provides an authoritative compilation of web application security flaws identified worldwide by experts.
These vulnerabilities threaten the security, confidentiality, integrity, and availability of applications as well as their developers and users.
Common threats include injection attacks, authentication session management misconfiguration as well as exposed sensitive data.
Increase the odds that our applications won't be compromised by familiarizing yourself with them and understanding their inner workings, then programming in a secure fashion.
Doing this may help avoid appearing on any hacker lists at year-end or a list of recent major breaches.
Surprisingly, this list remains relatively unchanged each year despite growing security awareness within developer communities.
Unfortunately, some problems continue to plague us year after year despite such awareness efforts.
At once a blessing and curse, vulnerabilities in web applications present both opportunities and dangers. You should regularly test how prepared your application is to handle these vulnerabilities as they don't change frequently - here is an updated list of the top 20 web application security flaws.
Receive an Application Security Audit
Assume you are taking the OWASP top ten seriously and that all hire software developers possess an expert security mindset.
Your self-tests should check that no vulnerabilities exist in your applications; in addition, there may be a security expert on staff who could offer further help and advice.
These steps provide excellent foundations but may not be sufficient due to filters and pre existing biases. Your team's involvement with maintaining code could become so intense over time that their analysis becomes subjective instead of objective.
As such, it's crucial that applications undergo reviews by someone unfamiliar with them - without bias or preconceived notions about what the code should do.
Professional application security consultants must possess extensive professional application security experience and be familiar with detecting subtle as well as obvious security threats.
In addition, they should remain up-to-date with current security issues while staying abreast of emerging issues that might not yet be widespread knowledge.
What I suggest is having an application security audit performed on your application, as this can serve as a starting point to make improvements.
Security audits may seem intimidating if your organization is young and just implementing a security-first mindset, but their benefits outweigh any doubts you might have about them.
Through them, applications will become safer and quicker.
Implement Proper Logging
After conducting a security assessment and creating a baseline security program for your application, as well as making any modifications required based on findings, it's time to take a step back and reflect.
Now let's examine the larger picture and identify external influences that have an impact on software application security, with special consideration given to logging.
Something will eventually go wrong. Perhaps an error went undetected or was not considered severe enough, only for it to later become exploitable by hackers.
For effective response and to prevent situations from spiraling out of control, proper logging should be put in place.
Information gathered here will give you insight into what happened and why, along with any events occurring during that period.
As is often stated: preparation prevents poor performance.
Make sure that your application is adequately instrumented. Tools and services like Tideways Blackfire and New Relic may be suitable depending on which software language you're developing in.
Second, you need to store information so it can be quickly and efficiently parsed at the appropriate moment. There are various methods of doing this; simple solutions like Linux Syslog can work well, or open source tools such as Elasticsearch Logstash Kibana (ELK stack) may provide better solutions; other SaaS options like Loggly Splunk and PaperTrail could also work.
No matter the method chosen, make sure your data can be easily and quickly accessed.
Read More: Web App Development In 2023: Everything You Need To Know
Real-Time Monitoring and Protection of Security
It is impossible to consider application security without considering both classic firewalls and Web application firewalls.
As I've written about recently, firewalls aren't the end-all and be-all of application security. They can provide specific protection for certain types of applications, but they don’t.
The WAFs are not effective for many reasons. They can produce a high number of false negatives and positives. Also, they can be expensive to maintain.
They do offer some protection for your application.
If you are interested in using a WAF, I recommend that you use it in conjunction with a Runtime Application Self-Protection tool (RASP) or that you use Application Security Management Platforms such as cisin, which can provide RASP modules and WAF in-app modules tailored to your specific needs to provide real-time monitoring and protection.
You can then protect your application both internally and externally.
Encrypt Everything
Let's consider encryption now that your app has been instrumented and you have an effective firewall solution in place to safeguard it.
When I speak of encryption, I do not refer only to HTTPS/HSTS but to encrypting everything possible.
Utilizing encryption is key to safeguarding applications holistically. Although it may appear excessive, considering all possible angles should be taken when approaching encryption solutions.
Let's Encrypt is making HTTPS more accessible than ever, and Google rewards websites using HTTPS with higher search engine rankings; however, this alone may not be sufficient.
At rest, all data must remain encrypted. HTTPS provides almost guaranteed protection against Man in the Middle attacks (MITMs).
If someone, such as an ex-employee, an unscrupulous system administrator, or a government agent, gains entry to your server and either removes or copies drives, all other security measures become useless.
Please don't view security as an isolated issue or component; when thinking about data at rest and in transit, take a holistic view of security.
Harden all the Things
Now that all data and traffic have been encrypted, how should systems be hardened? Everything from operating systems to software frameworks must be hardened accordingly.
Due to space limitations, it would be impossible to discuss this subject fully here. Instead, let us create a shortlist of suggestions covering both operating system and framework considerations.
- Does your web server utilize modules and extensions that your application doesn't need?
- Are there modules or extensions in your programming language which it doesn't require?
- Your programming language must support remote code execution through methods like exec or proc.
- What is the maximum script execution duration set?
- What access does your language have to filesystems?
- Where is session data stored?
- Can configuration files for servers, services, and software languages (such as MySQL and PostgreSQL ) be altered?
- Are your servers utilizing security extensions like SELinux and AppArmor?
- Does the flow of traffic have any restrictions or obstructions?
- How are users permitted to access servers, and is their access managed?
How are your software, servers, and services configured? This is a complicated topic. Here is a list of guides that you can refer to for best practices:
- Security Guide for Ruby on Rails
- PHP Security Checklist
- Ruby Security Handbook
- Python Security
- Node.js Security Handbook
- Hardening Linux servers
Update Your Server Regularly
Are You Wondering If Your Operating System Is Up-To-Date? Even though the OS itself might have been updated to the current version, its packages could still contain vulnerabilities that haven't been updated yet.
As soon as new security releases are out, update only security-specific packages instead of all.
You have the option to automate this process or review and approve each update individually.
You can use the following to install automatic security updates:
- Unattended Upgrades on Debian and related distributions
- yum-cron with "update_cmd = minimal-security-severity:Important"
- Automatic Updates in Windows
Please refer to your operating system documentation if you don't use one of the above.
Update Your Software
At all times, keep your application framework, third-party libraries, and operating system current.
Some may mock the use of structures, but I won't go into the debate over their efficacy here. All that needs to be said is that each has its own set of advantages that can save both time and energy when utilized appropriately.
Like operating systems and frameworks, third-party libraries contain vulnerabilities that should be patched quickly with appropriate support; as a result, it's wise to opt for the most recent stable version available when possible.
Package managers are available for most languages, whether dynamic like PHP and Python or static like Go. These tools simplify deployment as well as manage external dependencies more easily.
Take advantage of these offers and stay current on the newest releases.
Keep Up to Date with the Latest Vulnerabilities
This point is closely connected with the one prior. It can be challenging to keep up with all of the various attack vectors used today - Cross-site Scripting, SQL Injection, insecure direct object references, and Cross-site Request Forgery are among many others.
Life requires us to be cognizant of current realities in order to build secure applications in today's environment and time.
There are various methods available for gathering this information, which are easily digestible.
cisin publishes a biweekly newsletter full of engaging security articles that you can subscribe to, or stay informed by following these blogs and podcasts:
Never Stop Learning
Last but not least, it may sound cliche, but you should never stop learning. Even if you think you know about all the threats facing our industry, new threats continue to arise and must be kept at bay.
Utilize the links in this article to stay abreast of what's out there and foster an environment in your company that prioritizes security when developing applications.
Your risk of security breaches or other data breaches will diminish significantly if you make this part of your daily thinking process.
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Conclusion
This was a list of 20 best practices for protecting web applications. Unfortunately, one article cannot cover every topic sufficiently and keep pace with rapid changes in the security landscape.
Use these 20 best practices to build secure applications. Put security as high a priority as performance and testing when creating apps.
If you want application development you can contact cisin a application development company.
