Application Cybersecurity - 5 Ways to Secure Your Application

If you use applications on a daily basis, you've probably heard of application cybersecurity. While the term is rather vague, it refers to the processes of securing software during its development, deployment, and production phases. The process of securing your application begins with the development phase. This stage is critical to avoid security breaches. There are a variety of ways to secure your application. Let's examine some of these methods. To prevent an attack, you need to know the basics of application cybersecurity.

Misconfiguration flaws

There are many risks associated with application security, but few are as common as misconfiguration flaws. Regardless of industry, misconfiguration flaws allow attackers to access data and functionality on a system without permission. If a company's security posture is not up to par, this can have catastrophic consequences, ranging from complete system compromise to costly data breaches. Security professionals can minimize these risks by avoiding common mistakes.

Security misconfiguration is an unfortunate consequence of a lack of security awareness among application developers. These problems can occur at any level of the application stack, from the network services to the application server to the database and frameworks. They are often caused by a lack of documentation on security controls and default settings. The security of the application, data, and network are put at risk due to security misconfiguration. This leads to the most serious risks in application cybersecurity.

Injection flaws

Injection flaws occur when an attacker injects untrusted data into an application. This data can trick a targeted system into performing a command or query without its knowledge. As a result, an untrustworthy agent may gain access to protected data. These injection flaws often occur in components, which are libraries, frameworks, or other software modules that run on the same privileges as the application. A vulnerable component can lead to significant data loss. Other vulnerabilities can be caused by incorrect authentication or session management, which can expose personal information to malicious agents.

Thankfully, the injection flaws that occur in software are relatively easy to detect and test. They are moderately difficult to exploit, but can lead to significant security problems. Once a hacker finds an injection vulnerability, it can cause a host of problems, including a loss of availability, confidentiality, and integrity. Additionally, an injection attack can cause a denial of service. To protect yourself against these attacks, you should implement robust security controls.

Multi-Factor Authentication

The benefits of multi-factor authentication for application cybersecurity go beyond the basic protection of passwords. Hackers are able to install malware on systems and steal sensitive information. They can disrupt operations and costs can mount quickly. In one IBM study, the costs were highest in the first year. The second-year costs can reach as much as 25% of the total costs. An average organization takes 275 days to contain a data breach. Multi-factor authentication mitigates these risks and provides a second level of security.

When implemented properly, multi-factor authentication can help reduce the risk of malicious actors gaining access to applications. By implementing this measure, the user's login credentials can no longer be stolen by a malicious actor. A multi-factor authentication solution can send an authorization check to a device or account associated with the user's account, or require the user to enter a unique passcode to gain access. This provides a substantial barrier to entry and stops bad actors dead in their tracks.

Advanced Bot Protection

With the growing threat of automated threats, you need to protect your applications against them. Advanced bot protection will allow you to distinguish good bots from bad, which can cause severe disruption to your business. While some bots are helpful, malicious bots can compromise account details, send spam, and perform other harmful activities. Advanced bot protection will allow you to detect and stop these malicious bots before they impact your business. Advanced bot protection will give you visibility into the volume of human and bot traffic to your site and can also allow you to monitor and protect against any malicious activity.

Advanced Bot Protection uses powerful technology and human expertise to keep your application secure. The Imperva Connectors are easy to implement, and will allow you to integrate Advanced Bot Protection with many popular web technologies. The service includes protection for volumetric denial-of-service attacks, bot abuse, mage cart, and other OWASP Top 10 attacks. Further, the Imperva Connectors offer rapid, low-touch deployment options that are compatible with existing infrastructure.

DDoS protection

When it comes to application cybersecurity, DDoS protection can be an effective solution. It can prevent DDoS attacks from crippling your web applications, as well as divert traffic to a scrubbing center or sinkhole. Identifying the source of the attack can also help you develop protocols to prevent future attacks. By determining which servers are affected by the attack, IT teams can pinpoint which server should be shut down, reducing the impact on application performance. While mitigation devices can provide added uptime, they can also develop problems, causing the problem to escalate to the point where they become a part of the attack.

DDoS attacks have specific patterns. If a determined attacker knows how to attack an application, he can modify the attack to frustrate even the most experienced defender. Therefore, it becomes impractical to maintain an ongoing list of known attack patterns. DDoS protection for application cybersecurity must be dynamic. A DDoS attack can target multiple applications, causing massive damage to the application. A DDoS attack can cause an application to become offline for a number of days.