Since 1999
Website hacking has become more commonplace, dangerous and sophisticated. “My website doesn’t contain any sensitive data. Why would someone be interested in hacking it?” If you think the same way, you could be wrong.
Sensitive data is not the only thing that entices hackers. Most of the times, they resort to hacking to gain access of the target web server and make use of it in illegal ways – to serve files of illegal nature, initiate spamming emails, to make it part of a botnet attack or to mine for Bitcoins. On the one hand, the hacking instance hampers your business prospects, while on the other it ropes you in illegal affairs.
To help you secure your website from being hacked, Wisitech presents a 5-step formula.
It may sound obvious, but it’s one of the most effective security strategies to keep your site secured. Consider updating the technology framework – WordPress, Umbraco, Drupal, WooCommerce, Magento or any other to keep hackers at bay.
Image Credit: Sucuri
Consider updating the server operating system if you have an on-premise one. Software update not only helps with securing the website but also contributes towards its performance. The updates for the software frameworks are easily available from their parental website.
In this type of attack, the attacker inserts a rogue code in SQL statements into your query form field or URL parameter with a bid to modify or destroy the databases, steal information or delete data. This one of the most common web hacking techniques can be prevented by using parameterised queries. All popular web languages have this feature and it is easy to implement.
XSS or Cross-Site Scripting attacks inject malicious JavaScript into your pages, which can steal the information of your users either through user-generated-content like comments or form login cookies. This puts the reliability of your business at stake. Nowadays, all HTML-based front end web frameworks including Angular and Ember contain XSS protection. However, the mixing of server and client rendering has to be done intelligently, otherwise it could create more loopholes for malware.
Don’t reveal too much technical information to the users when your website encounters a problem and fails to serve them. Disclosing API keys or database passwords can court in substantial risks in the form of SQL injection or something similar. As the information makes it easier for attackers to plan and execute web hacking techniques. Convey users information they need keeping detailed error report in your server logs only.
Resorting to a double-layer validation helps you to check any unwelcome intrusion besides helping you to augment the UX (user experience) of the website. The client side validation is on the browser side using script languages such as JavaScript, VBScript or HTML5 attributes. The server side validation is pursued through one of the server side scripting languages such as ASP.Net, PHP, etc. Ask your web developers to implement a sophisticated and intelligent validation method that can identify and block malicious or scripting code effectively and keep your website secure.
