Websites have come a long way from their early days when the focus was on design and functionality, not security. As a website owner today, you simply cannot ignore the threats knocking down your website’s door. According to a recent report, 50% of all websites were vulnerable to at least one high-risk exploitable vulnerability in 2021 [1]. Compounding matters is the fact that the number of malicious web application requests rose by 88% between 2020 and 2021. WordPress was attacked 24% more than other CMS platforms. 99.42% of vulnerabilities come from plugins and themes. All in all, it’s clear that web applications are a top target for malicious actors, now and in the future. Prevention is key, which is where website security assessments come in. Read on to find out what a website security assessment is, why it’s important, and how to conduct one for your business.

What Is a Website Security Assessment?

A website security assessment or security audit involves using tools and techniques to test the security status of a website. It can be automatic, manual, or both, and should ideally be integrated with your software development lifecycle (SDLC). The basic outline covers a vulnerability assessment, followed by penetration testing, and finally remediation measures. It usually involves safety protocols, security checklists, code checks, firewall checks, etc. The goal is to figure out what threats are affecting the integrity of your web app and how to resolve them.

While many organisations consider assessments a one-time task, the reality is that just because your site has been declared safe at one point of time does not mean it’ll stay that way permanently. Vulnerabilities are constantly popping up, and hackers are exploiting them in new and creative ways. A website security assessment is thus an ongoing process that has to be undertaken time and again. Failure to do so could result in reputation loss, financial burdens, regulatory and compliance issues, etc., when a data breach, ransomware hit, or similar attacks occur.

You can either conduct a website security assessment by yourself or hire an external team to do it. There are some simple ways to check if your website is safe, but for a more advanced assessment, you’ll have to consult an expert like ThreatScan.

How to Conduct a Website Security Assessment

Conducting a website security assessment is a multi-step process that starts with a thorough scope of the entire website, identifying flaws, and undertaking rigorous penetration tests that evaluate how your site responds to various attacks. These tests should include checks for password quality rules, SQL injections, brute force attacks, user authorisation frameworks, and session cookies. Everything must be meticulously documented in a report that mentions all the vulnerabilities found, likely threats, and solutions to address these flaws.

Follow these steps to perform a complete website security assessment:

Step 1: Collect Information

You can start your website security assessment by doing a simple security check through tools like Virus Total, SSL Trust, etc. These tools will assess your website against known databases, check for viruses and malware, spam servers and domains, SSL certificates, breaches, and blacklists. This process just involves pasting your site’s URL into the tool’s search engine. The results will give you a basic overview of your website’s security issues, although there is a risk of false positives. Moreover, because it’s an automated process, it will not be as thorough as a manual audit. So don’t just stop here.

Step 2: Scan for Vulnerabilities

The next step would be to scan for vulnerabilities using advanced tools like Nmap, Nikto, ThreatScan, etc. These sniff out flaws in web servers, databases, file directories, etc. This will give you a better understanding of the kind of flaws lurking around the corners of your website. Keep an eye out for the following:

• Authentication management
• Client-side logic
• Business logic
• Authorisation
• Input validation
• Error handling
• Application and server configuration

Step 3: Exploit

Now that you have gathered every last bit of relevant information, you can start using the data gathered to conduct exploits and test the severity of the security issues you found. You can utilise tools like Nmap, Burp Suite, etc. These can be used to forge an attack on your site, such as an SQL injection, and observe how they respond in real-time.

You can also employ an open-source password cracker to see how easily a password can be guessed. You could try guessing them yourself as well. Non-complex passwords without special characters, alphabets, and numbers may be exposed through this process. Another method would be to access the information stored in cookies and check if the username and password details have been encrypted.

Another exploit is to modify a parameter value in the query string. A hacker can manipulate inputs passed via an HTTP GET request from the client to the server, allowing them to steal data or corrupt it. You should also check for cross-site scripting (XSS). A hacker can execute a script, such as JavaScript, to steal user cookies. Your web app should not accept all HTML and scripts.

Step 4: Remediation

Now that you’ve found all possible flaws and tested them, it’s time to list them in a report and address them one by one. Once every security hole has been fixed, you should retest your website and check if all the vulnerabilities have been patched.

Kick Off Your Website Security Assessment with ThreatScan

A website security assessment is no easy task, and you should rely on experienced personnel to handle it for you. ThreatScan is a SaaS-based vulnerability management and penetration testing platform that goes deep into your system to scan for vulnerabilities, scrutinise risks, and help perform manual pentests. You’ll get an instant threat score to see how your application and network are faring in terms of security, along with an overall organisation score and risk posture. There’s even an easy-to-understand dashboard to manage vulnerabilities, view the status of your pentest, and much more.

If you’re new to this process or feel lost, our AI-based chatbot, Diana, will help you submit, download, and reapply for tests in real-time. The AI-based chatbot will help you answer any questions related to cyber security or about the product. We are also available 24/7 to support you through the pentest journey. You’ll receive all ThreatScan notifications through email, Jira, and Slack integration, allowing you to take action quickly and communicate effectively with your team on your preferred platform.

Start your website security assessment by contacting us here.

References

1. https://purplesec.us/resources/cyber-security-statistics/#WebApplication

2. https://www.techopedia.com/definition/29826/web-application-security-testing

3. https://shieldbyteinfosec.com/web-application-security-assessment.php

4. https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/security-testing-of-web-applications/

5. https://www.synopsys.com/glossary/what-is-web-application-security.html