Tag Archives: security
5 Website Security Issues You Should Be Aware Of?
Technology has become more advanced, and with it, hack attacks in the online world are increasing at an alarming rate.
Hackers use known vulnerabilities in third-party softwares to target your website and web server, and use it for their advantage.
The effect of this maybe just defacing of your website, stealing your confidential client data, or even worse, use your server resources to perform illegal activities.
There are some simple tips you can leverage to strengthen your website software and sleep with peace of mind.
- XSS or Cross Site Scripting
- SQL Injection
- DoS or Denial of Service Attack
- Weak Passwords
- Brute-force Attack
- Code Injection
- Unencrypted Protocol
- Debug Mode on Production Server
- Old Software Versions
- No Backup Plan
XSS occurs when a hacker embeds scripting code into a web form or url, and run malicious code to change your web visitor’s experience and steal passwords or other data.
XSS can also be persistent nature, where an attacker can manipulate a specific web page and show it as a login screen to users. The recent XSS comment hack on WordPress 4.2 is an example of such permanent loophole.
SQL injection occurs when a hacker uses a web form field or URL parameter to manipulate your database. Almost all web platforms have a database and generally open source CMS platforms maintain dynamic aspects of the website in database.
Denial of Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial of Service (DDos) attacks are by far the most notorious kinds of attacks.
That is because, any level of hacker with a small investment can bombard a victim website, with millions of requests, and make them look like they are legit users.
This eventually crashes the web server, and makes the site offline, requiring manual intervention to bring it back online.
We should all use complex passwords, because the weakest link is all it takes to break the chain. It is imperative to use strong passwords for admin areas, but equally important for all users to protect the security of their accounts.
One account compromised can lead to another and that could lead to admin account hacked. It is recommended to have passwords with minimum 8 letters, digits and special characters to avoid quick password guesses.
These attacks are trial-n-error methods to guess your username and password. Weak passwords are prone to getting hacked easily.
Methods like temporary blocking of IP and accounts, and multi-factor authentication, help mitigating such attacks.
Websites with file upload capability, or sites missing proper client and server side form validation, can be dangerous.
The risk is that any file uploaded, could contain a script which can be leveraged as root-kit ie. administrator access to your website.
Lack of form validation on simple form fields could lead to malicious code being inserted into the database, and could cause undesirable results in your website.
An unencrypted channel allows man-in-middle attack to steal information from your users.
It preferred to use security certificate SSL, whenever passing personal information between the website and web server or database.
Some developers may accidentally enable debug mode on the live production server, which dumps extensive error logs to the browser.
Thus a hacker can obtain valuable information about the softwares used by the webserver and target his attack much better. Its crucial to hide as much internal information about server to minimize and delay the attacks.
It may seem obvious, but ensuring you keep all software up to date is vital in keeping your site secure. This applies to both the server operating system and any software you may be running on your website such as a CMS or forum.
When website security holes are found in software, hackers are quick to abuse them.
No matter how much vigilant you are, attackers can find new loopholes to doom your website. So besides prevention, you should also have a backup-restore plan.
Just in case your site is compromised, you should have a team which can quickly restore the last known backup, and avoid reputation and sales loss.
Coversine provides a simple affordable solution to all these problems. Your own security professional who will maintain your site’s uptime, performance and security, all-in-one for as low as $10 per month.
The subscription takes care of performance checks, and regular updates to softwares and apps as well.
How hackers taking advantage of Internet of Things
The latest technology, IoT is going to take the world by storm. This awesome money and time-saving trick to virtually monitor devices in your household is showing some promising signs. Once it hits our everyday life, it will be more than just productivity-boosting. Their are many pros and cons of this latest technology. But, benefits of this technology are ceaseless. And the one thing that rises above all-is that comfy, warm sense of being connected to your home things wherever you go. Internet of Things is all about the safety that comes with the associated apps.
Or… is it?
Our planet already has enough mess accumulated by technology. According to the Forbes, a whopping number of 30,000 computers are hacked every day. Whether the sob story is – Sony’s hacking Scandal or Jennifer Lawrence’s outrageous photo-leaks, privacy breach is nothing new to hit headlines.
But the safety hazards associated with Internet of Things didn’t discourage David Carmon, Britain’s Prime Minister to promise £45 million to IoT’s future. But Edith Ramirez of Federal Trade Commission, USA, aired the data security concerns that IoT inevitably brings and she warns “Any device that is connected to the Internet is at risk of being hijacked.”
Considering National Security Agency spying leaks, letting Internet steer the wheel of your household appliances is another way of sending a welcome note to government surveillance agencies (or worse, hackers who do it for fun), to monitor what’s on your plate for dinner this evening. Just as shown in the TV series Homeland, terrorists are capable of hacking even a pacemaker.
A fitness-tracking smartwatch, the one that counts your step or heartbeat, can be tampered with. Symantec Corporation has carried out research that confirms so. Make sure when you use IoT as security footage or baby monitor, isn’t being used to stalk your move. The other devises that are susceptible to such intrusion are Smart TVs, Baby monitors, USB, Routers and even toilets!
It is predicated that cutting-edge IoT solutions have already started to materialise at a rapid rate replacing the traditional customized solutions. It is to historically alter consumer habits and trends. No matter what security challenges they involve, business Internet of Things connections are expected to reach 5.4 billion in 5 years. According to Verizon Inc., organizations that do not switch to IoT-based solutions will lag behind by at least 10% less profit by 2025.
The security of Internet of Things depends on the data encryption during transmission. It will take true grits of manufacturers and careful consideration of computer scientists to ward off evils lurking behind the smart LEDs and unassuming webcams. Or else, IoT will be our 21st century’s cross to bear.
5 Website Security Issues You Should Be Aware Of?
Technology has become more advanced, and with it, hack attacks in the online world are increasing at an alarming rate.
Hackers use known vulnerabilities in third-party softwares to target your website and web server, and use it for their advantage.
The effect of this maybe just defacing of your website, stealing your confidential client data, or even worse, use your server resources to perform illegal activities.
There are some simple tips you can leverage to strengthen your website software and sleep with peace of mind.
- XSS or Cross Site Scripting
- SQL Injection
- DoS or Denial of Service Attack
- Weak Passwords
- Brute-force Attack
- Code Injection
- Unencrypted Protocol
- Debug Mode on Production Server
- Old Software Versions
- No Backup Plan
XSS occurs when a hacker embeds scripting code into a web form or url, and run malicious code to change your web visitor’s experience and steal passwords or other data.
XSS can also be persistent nature, where an attacker can manipulate a specific web page and show it as a login screen to users. The recent XSS comment hack on WordPress 4.2 is an example of such permanent loophole.
SQL injection occurs when a hacker uses a web form field or URL parameter to manipulate your database. Almost all web platforms have a database and generally open source CMS platforms maintain dynamic aspects of the website in database.
Denial of Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial of Service (DDos) attacks are by far the most notorious kinds of attacks.
That is because, any level of hacker with a small investment can bombard a victim website, with millions of requests, and make them look like they are legit users.
This eventually crashes the web server, and makes the site offline, requiring manual intervention to bring it back online.
We should all use complex passwords, because the weakest link is all it takes to break the chain. It is imperative to use strong passwords for admin areas, but equally important for all users to protect the security of their accounts.
One account compromised can lead to another and that could lead to admin account hacked. It is recommended to have passwords with minimum 8 letters, digits and special characters to avoid quick password guesses.
These attacks are trial-n-error methods to guess your username and password. Weak passwords are prone to getting hacked easily.
Methods like temporary blocking of IP and accounts, and multi-factor authentication, help mitigating such attacks.
Websites with file upload capability, or sites missing proper client and server side form validation, can be dangerous.
The risk is that any file uploaded, could contain a script which can be leveraged as root-kit ie. administrator access to your website.
Lack of form validation on simple form fields could lead to malicious code being inserted into the database, and could cause undesirable results in your website.
An unencrypted channel allows man-in-middle attack to steal information from your users.
It preferred to use security certificate SSL, whenever passing personal information between the website and web server or database.
Some developers may accidentally enable debug mode on the live production server, which dumps extensive error logs to the browser.
Thus a hacker can obtain valuable information about the softwares used by the webserver and target his attack much better. Its crucial to hide as much internal information about server to minimize and delay the attacks.
It may seem obvious, but ensuring you keep all software up to date is vital in keeping your site secure. This applies to both the server operating system and any software you may be running on your website such as a CMS or forum.
When website security holes are found in software, hackers are quick to abuse them.
No matter how much vigilant you are, attackers can find new loopholes to doom your website. So besides prevention, you should also have a backup-restore plan.
Just in case your site is compromised, you should have a team which can quickly restore the last known backup, and avoid reputation and sales loss.
Coversine provides a simple affordable solution to all these problems. Your own security professional who will maintain your site’s uptime, performance and security, all-in-one for as low as $10 per month.
The subscription takes care of performance checks, and regular updates to softwares and apps as well.