neoerudition.net/avg-secrets-and-features
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 a kind of cyberattack in which an attacker takes on the identity of another to gain access to sensitive information or do criminal activities, such as the theft of credit card numbers and other personal information. Common types of web-based attacks include Structured Query Language injection (SQLi) and cross-site scripting (XSS) and attacks on file uploads.
In an SQLi attack hackers enter customized Structured Query Language commands into the web application or website field to steal private data stored in the database server backend. Similarly, in an XSS attack, hackers insert malicious code into the web application or website that the victim’s browser executes without validation or encodes. The attack can hijack the victim’s session, show unauthorized images or text or redirect users to a fake website.
The best method to protect against cyber-attacks is to regularly run vulnerability scans, and apply patches to your website as well as its web servers, and any databases that are underlying. It is also a great idea to devise an incident response plan to ensure that an attack is quickly identified and addressed. You should also be able to identify web-based attacks by noting warning signs, such as slowing down of the network and frequent website shutdowns.