Common Web Security Threats

1. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a type of security vulnerability typically found in web applications. XSS enables attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. This can lead to the theft of sensitive information such as cookies, session tokens, or other confidential data.

Example: An attacker might inject a script into a comment field on a blog. When other users visit the blog, the script executes in their browser, potentially redirecting them to a malicious site or capturing their login credentials.

2. SQL Injection

SQL Injection is a code injection technique that attackers use to insert malicious SQL statements into input fields for execution by a backend database. This can allow attackers to access, modify, or delete sensitive data, or even take control of the database server.

Example: If a login form does not properly sanitize user input, an attacker could input a malicious SQL query such as ' OR '1'='1 into the username field. This could bypass authentication and grant access to unauthorized users.

3. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make a web service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources. Unlike a traditional DoS attack, which uses a single source, a DDoS attack uses multiple compromised systems to flood the target with requests.

Example: An attacker might use a botnet (a network of infected computers) to send a massive number of requests to a website. This can cause the website to become unresponsive or crash, disrupting service for legitimate users.