What is Web Attack?

Over the past decade, millions of businesses have embraced web applications as an inexpensive way to build relationships and transactions with prospects and customers. But while they provide the opportunity for greater customer insight and efficiency, web applications also have vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cybercriminals. One of the most common and devastating of these is a web attack.

A web attack is an example of a cyberattack wherein the attacker impersonates another person to gain access to sensitive data or perform malicious activities such as the theft of credit card numbers or other personal data. Web attacks are typically characterized by SQLi (Structured Query Language Injection), XSS (cross-site scripting) and file upload attack.

In a SQLi, hackers enter customized Structured Query http://neoerudition.net/ Language (SQL) commands into the field on a website or a web-based application to steal private data stored on the database server behind. Similar to an XSS attack hackers inject malicious code into an app or website that the victim’s browser executes without confirmation or encoding. The attack may hijack the user’s session, show unauthorized images or text, or redirect users to a phishing website.

The best way to guard against an attack via the internet is to conduct regular vulnerability scans, and to apply patches to your site as well as its web servers and any databases that are underneath. It is also an excellent idea to create an incident response plan so that should an attack occur it can be quickly identified and responded to. You must also be able to identify attacks on websites by recognizing warning signs like site slowdowns or intermittent shut downs.