The Importance Of Heightened Security For Web Applications

With the Internet playing such a great part in our lives today, with more people engaging on social media, and with the dramatic increase in e-commerce, the security of Web applications is a major concern for users, developers and businesses. Here is a comprehensive look at the vulnerability and security of Web applications.

- Vivek Ratan

We all think twice before entering any of our sensitive personal details like bank account number, address or phone number on any Web application platform, fearing others might access these and use them inappropriately. Well, that fear is quite justified. As per the 2017 TrustWave Global Security Report, almost 99.7 per cent of Web applications scanned by TrustWave had at least one vulnerability. This makes it quite challenging for stalwarts like Amazon and Walmart to maintain the trust of their customers in terms of the data security provided by them on their platforms. They need to envelope their Web applications using a highly insulated security sheath that does not let any cyber criminals invade or attack their app.

As technology evolves, cyber attackers are becoming wiser and trying out different means to attack various Web applications. They continuously keep looking for even small glitches that can let them enter applications and steal data. Nowadays, malvertisements are being widely used by cyber criminals in different applications. With a mere US$ 5, they can infect more than 1000 vulnerable computers using these malicious advertisements. Likewise, there are a few other factors that add to the vulnerability of a Web application.

The first criterion for Web app developers is to fulfil the functional requirements of the customer and then take care of the performance of the application. They must ensure the application is fast and is flexible enough to adapt in the evolving IT arena. Typically, the security of the Web application is the last consideration. But not giving security priority often leads to something big going wrong, and it’s only then that the developers become concerned about it. However, implementing security checks at this juncture amounts to a good deal of extra cost for the stakeholders.