
WEB SECURITY ADVISOR
HTTP attacks: Strategies for prevention
Michael Cobb 04.13.2006
Rating: -3.86- (out of 5)




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To run a Web site, your Web server must at least have port 80 open to process HTTP requests for Web pages. Unfortunately, attackers can modify or manipulate these requests to cause the server problems or to trick it into revealing valuable information. By using an HTTP request, an attacker has a legitimate path to your Web server and therefore can easily bypass firewalls and other security measures to initiate an attack.
There are two common HTTP attacks. One involves sending a long URL to a Web server with the goal of triggering a buffer overflow. The other attack is the SQL injection, which is the process of sending appended SQL commands to a URL to gain access to the backend database. Attackers often use forms to perform these attacks, as they both look to exploit poorly-written applications using unexpected, user-submitted data to initiate the attack. This means all user input data needs to be checked before being
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sent to another process. For example, if input data is used to build a Web page or is retrieved from a database, it must be checked before being published to ensure that any erroneous data is removed and the code runs correctly.
To prevent these types of attack, your organization's application security strategy should include the following:
Here are 11 rules that developers should follow during any Web application development cycle:
About the author:
Michael Cobb, CISSP-ISSAP is the founder and managing director of Cobweb Applications Ltd., a consultancy that offers IT training and support in data security and analysis. He co-authored the book IIS Security and has written numerous technical articles for leading IT publications. Mike is the guest instructor for SearchSecurity's Web Security School and, as a SearchSecurity.com site expert, answers user questions on application and platform security.
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