Most web applications handle a lot of data, and you have reduced the chance of having any vulnerability as a software developer or cyber security team. Most practices keep changing, and you must keep reviewing and updating to beat the hackers. Some of the best practices on the checklist are as follows.
Encrypting your passwords saves you from getting hacked and losing your sensitive information. SHA256 Encryption involves using cryptography to 32-byte unique signature text when generating a hash. It makes it hard to decrypt any password that uses this algorithm. Encrypting such passwords provides extra security to all the user data providing you with additional security.
Cookies are files that act as an identity during browsing to improve the experience and have a better loading experience. They each have a unique cookie ID, which aids in the communication between the server and computer to get the requested information. Hackers can use them to steal sensitive information and conduct different activities using the data.
There are several types of cookies, and it’s the role of the user and software teams to ensure they are secure and safe. The best practices to have secure cookies to improve web application security include:
Ensure all your websites and applications have HTTPS encryption. It ensures all the data under transit is safe from cybercriminals and encodes all the inputs and outputs. Most customers nowadays understand which websites are safe by looking at different factors on your website. Installing HTTPS ensures a secure encrypted connection between the user’s browser and the web server.
The best way to implement this is by ensuring users can only access your application using HTTPS. Disable the HTTP option, which can lead to hackers accessing sensitive data. In some cases, developers limit HTTPS access to some pages. It is safe to restrict access to all the pages.
Some browsers like Google Chrome warn the users that the website or application they are about to visit is not secure if they visit insecure websites. To implement HTTPS protection, you should purchase an SSL certificate and install it on your server. Best companies SSL certificates include COMODO, Sectigo, and DigiCert. It secures all your connections and makes it hard to experience security issues.
Hackers send unlimited traffic exceeding the normal requests, making everything crash, mainly targeting large organizations like banks, institutions, big media companies, government bodies, and e-commerce platforms. Best practices you can implement to defend your websites and applications from denial of service (DoS) attacks include:
Companies must ensure their developers follow the proper settings during development and deployment. The best way to achieve this is by using the DevSecOps approach, where the team focuses on security issues from the first day of development to deployment. Another way to have the best practices is to ensure the company has a standard Secure SDLC Management Process that includes all the web application security checklists.
Common ways of having secure code, server, database, etc., include the following:
Logging lets developers track all events when a web application runs, helping them debug and fix any vulnerabilities. You can also use the log data to conduct forensic research to determine how cybercriminals accessed your application and how to prevent such attacks from happening again.
The data must be kept away from hackers as they can delete their logs after conducting a hack. Proper logging is one of the best web application security measures that every company must learn how to implement.
Some of the best logging practices to implement include:
Web application security takes time to cover everything on the checklist. Companies can expand their teams by hiring security specialists to speed up the process or hire freelancers who can offer the same services. By following the above practices, you will have started the first steps in ensuring your application is safe from any threats and vulnerabilities.