A Web Portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way. Apart from the search engine standard, web portals offer other services such as e-mail, news, stock prices, infotainment, and other features. Portals provide a way for enterprises to provide a consistent look and feel with access control and procedures for multiple applications, which otherwise would have been different entities altogether. Websites have almost taken the role of your business card and more. No matter what business you have, you need a website developed as much as you would need a shop or an office. After all who would want to miss on a world market looking for your products or services via the web?
However having a website also poses a security threat similar to any modern day business would have with physical presence. We guard the physical premises with cameras, security guards and modern equipment. Similarly your web presence also needs to be guarded via daily security scanning, website security testing, website penetration testing, website malware scanning and website firewalls.
Of course the million dollar question then is where do you start?
Well the answer is equally simple. The best way to protect your web presence is undergo website security testing. It is a common practice to have any website or software tested for bugs before it is promoted to a production environment. The concept of security testing although not equally popular is similar in nature. The skills required however are completely different, rare and specialized. Only a few specialized security testing vendors focus on hiring the real ethical hackers to provide you sufficient assurance that your website is secure.
The six basic security concepts that need to be covered by security testing are: confidentiality, integrity, authentication, availability, authorization and non-repudiation. Security testing as a term has a number of different meanings and can be completed in a number of different ways. This will ensure that you have covered all aspects of the website that are key elements in any websites security.
After you have undergone a security test from a reputed security testing vendor, you would know exactly what aspects of website security you would need to focus on first.
The next step would be to make the necessary steps that as stipulated by the security tester in the final report. Most penetration testing vendors lack in this area and ignore its important. This is a key element for any security test and should be of utmost importance while you choose your website security vendor. If you are presented with test results that are not described well enough and do not point to SMART recommendations to solve them, you must simply reject the report. Look for clear guidance on how these security gaps could be solved or higher a professional who could solve them for you.
Once you have tested your website for security and fixed them, you must continue to stay vigilant against emerging threats. This is possible via a website security scanning service that you can sign up from a prime security service provider like Hackers Locked. McAfee secure or hacker safe is another such premium scanning service, the differentiating factor when compared to a service like Hackers Locked is the three hundred percent heavy price tag.
Some of the threats you can check and mitigate by doing the above are:
SQL/PHP/JavaScript Injection Vulnerabilities
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Broken Authentication and Session Management
Insecure Direct Object References
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Security configuration loopholes
Insecure Cryptographic Storage
Failure to Restrict URL Access
Insufficient Transport Layer Protection
Invalidated Redirects and privilege escalation
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Broken Authentication and Session Management
Insecure Direct Object References
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Security configuration loopholes
Insecure Cryptographic Storage
Failure to Restrict URL Access
Insufficient Transport Layer Protection
Invalidated Redirects and privilege escalation
Once you have undergone a website security check, do not forget to endorse your security status to your visitors by displaying a website security seal or a trust seal. Trust Guard and Hackers Locked Website Security Trustmark are good examples. A website security certificate can help you on compliance requirements and also increase visitor confidence.