Essential Ways to Protect Your Apps from Cyber Threats

Security is vital in the digital era. Many companies partner with reliable business application development services, leveraging various measures to prevent data breaches and cyberattacks on their apps. This includes proactive threat detection and regular updates to ensure these applications remain resilient against new and emerging cyber threats.

Based on the CrowdStrike 2024 Global Threat Report, the number of Big Game Hunting (BGH) victims named on dedicated data leak websites increased to 76%. 

BGH is a type of cyberattack that targets large corporations and high-profile entities using ransomware. Common victims include:

• Banks and other financial institutions;
• Government agencies;
• Prominent business leaders, and 
• Hospitals and other healthcare institutions.

While it is true that these institutions implement the most reliable cybersecurity measures, there’s still a significant risk of breaches. Therefore, it’s critical to protect your business data even during the early stages of app development.

Protecting Your Applications from Cyber Threats

Business applications are essential tools that enable the efficient completion of tasks within a reasonable timeframe. However, as the number of apps and users grows, so do the cyber threats targeting them. 

To maintain data security and integrity, protecting business apps from possible threats should be the utmost priority. 

Common Cyber Threats Targeting Apps

Cyberattacks occur every day. Exploding Topics revealed that every 11 seconds, someone becomes a victim of a cyberattack. 

Below are some of the most common cyber threats that specifically target applications. 

Malware 

According to Statista, 6.06 billion malware attacks occurred worldwide, most of which happened in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Among the most frequent types of attacks were the following:

• Worms;
• Viruses;
• Ransomware;
• Trojan;
• Bots and Keyloggers, and
• Backdoor.

Malicious software, or malware, is designed to compromise an application’s functionality. For instance, cyber attackers often use ransomware to encrypt data, keeping it hostage until a ransom is paid. 

Fortunately, implementing security measures to protect applications against malware and ransomware attacks can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and downtime issues.

This involves setting up the following:

• Real-time malware detection – using antivirus and firewall applications.
• Sandboxing – using an isolated environment for testing codes. 
• Regular patching – distributing and applying updates to the software. 

Phishing Attacks

Phishing remains one of the most prevalent cybercrime forms, with businesses becoming increasingly vulnerable to multi-channel phishing attacks. 

This involves tricking users into providing confidential information, such as login credentials or personal data, through deceptive emails or websites. 

Norton revealed that as many as 57% of organizations experienced phishing attacks. 

To prevent phishing incidents, implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) can effectively reduce risks. In addition, it’s vital to educate users to recognize phishing attempts. 

SQL Injection and XSS

SQL injection attacks exploit an application’s database query execution by inserting malicious SQL code. XSS attacks, on the other hand, refer to injecting harmful codes into web pages. 

Fortunately, you can safeguard your business application from these attacks by implementing the following techniques:

Input validation

This technique ensures that all incoming data is checked and verified before processing to prevent malicious input from causing harm.

Parameterized queries

Using this technique helps you avoid SQL injection attacks, as the input values are treated in parameters and not executable code.

Web Application Firewalls (WAFs)

This application can monitor and filter HTTP traffic between a web app and the internet, offering protection against various cyber threats.

Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks

According to Astra, Man-In-The-Middle attacks were responsible for 19% of all successful cyberattacks. 

During an MITM attack, a malicious actor intercepts communication between two parties to inject malicious content or steal data. It’s particularly dangerous for applications with unencrypted communication.

With the help of a cybersecurity expert, a business app developer can install encryption protocols like Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or secure Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to mitigate MITM attacks.

Best Practices for Securing Apps

Between rapid technological advancements and emerging cyber threats, ensuring app security has become a challenge. After all, each component of an application can have exploitable vulnerabilities. 

To prevent or minimize the risks, a reliable business application development provider employs the best practices outlined in the Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS). This strategic framework has three levels of security verification to help gauge your security posture against both common and advanced threats.

Source: OWASP.org

Moreover, the ASVS breaks down application security into 14 critical areas, which are as follows:

Architecture, Design, and Threat Modeling

Designing a secure architecture is the foundation of app security, even before writing any code. Threat modeling, on the other hand, includes identifying potential risks, vulnerabilities, and attack vectors specific to your application and planning how to counteract them.

Authentication

Authentication is the first line of defense against malicious threats. A cybersecurity professional can implement secure authentication processes so that only authorized users have access to the app. 

By having a robust authentication mechanism in place, such as MFA, businesses can reduce potential risks, such as identity theft, account compromise, and unauthorized access.

Session Management

Secure session management ensures that a user’s identity remains protected throughout their interaction with your application. 

For enhanced security, use short, unique, and unpredictable session IDs (Identity Documents) to minimize the risk of session hijacking. Additionally, enforcing secure session timeouts by logging users out after periods of inactivity helps protect against unauthorized access. Lastly, implementing cookies with secure and “HTTP Only” flags is essential to prevent XSS attacks.

Access Control and Role-Based Permissions

Another way to protect apps from cyber threats is to limit access to confidential data and core app functionalities based on user roles. 

One example is implementing Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) so users can access only the data and features necessary for their roles. This approach reduces the risk of accidental or malicious misuse.

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Validation, Sanitization, and Encoding

Protect your application from injection attacks by rigorously validating, sanitizing, and encoding user inputs. This prevents malicious data from compromising your application, maintaining data integrity and security. 

This practice includes:

• Validating all inputs to ensure that they match the expected format, length, and type.
• Using parameterized queries and ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) to prevent SQL injection.
• Encoding outputs properly to prevent XSS attacks.

Stored Cryptography

Encrypting confidential data, both at rest and in transit, is non-negotiable. Thus, utilizing robust cryptographic methods can protect your data from unauthorized access, ensuring confidentiality and integrity.

An experienced business application development agency can employ strong encryption algorithms, such as AES-256, to protect sensitive data at rest. This includes properly managing encryption keys with a secure key management system to ensure that keys are stored and accessed securely.

Regularly rotating encryption keys can also reduce the impact of potential breaches by minimizing the duration that any compromised key is in use.

Error Handling and Logging

Properly managing errors and maintaining detailed logs are crucial for swiftly detecting, investigating, and responding to app security incidents. Best practices involve:

• Ensuring error messages do not reveal technical details that attackers could exploit.
• Using secure logging practices and avoiding logging sensitive data like passwords or full credit card numbers.
• Implementing a centralized logging system for real-time monitoring and alerting of suspicious activities.

Data Protection

Protecting user data through security measures such as encryption, access controls, and regular audits ensures that sensitive information remains secure at all times. 

A business application developer implements SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to encrypt in-transit data and access controls to limit who can view and update sensitive data. 

Also, businesses must  ensure compliance with data protection regulations (ex., GDPR, HIPAA, etc.) that are relevant to their industry.

Communication Security

Secure communication practices protect data exchanged between users, applications, and third-party services from interception and modification.

To prevent data interception, it is crucial to use HTTPS for all web traffic. Regularly renewing and updating SSL/TLS certificates can also ensure ongoing protection. Disabling weak ciphers and utilizing modern, secure protocols, such as TLS 1.2 or higher, further enhance security by maintaining robust encryption standards.

Malicious Code Detection

Malicious code scanning prevents harmful software, such as malware or backdoors, from being introduced into your application codebase. Implementing robust mechanisms such as static and dynamic code analysis, along with behavior-based detection, facilitates early identification of vulnerabilities. 

Utilizing automated tools OWASP ZAP, allows for comprehensive scanning and monitoring of your application’s code and behavior. Regular code reviews, whether peer-based or automated, further enhance the detection process by continuously evaluating code for potential threats.

Business Logic Security

This practice focuses on protecting the specific workflows, rules, and processes within your application from being manipulated or exploited.

Business app experts can conduct thorough testing and validation to safeguard against logic-based vulnerabilities. This also includes using rate-limiting and validation checks to prevent abuse of business processes and reviewing business rules periodically to ensure that they’re implemented securely.

File and Resource Management

File and resource management involves securing files, directories, and other resources to prevent unauthorized access, modification, or exploitation.

This includes the following best practices:

• Restricting access to sensitive files and directories on your servers.
• Using file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized changes.
• Ensuring proper permissions are set to prevent unauthorized access.

API and Web Service Security

Application Programming Interface integrations are common attack vectors in modern apps. They enable the integration of third-party services and enhance functionality. 

APIs also enable heterogeneous systems to interact with each other and seamlessly exchange data. 

To maintain the integrity of the app’s interactions with external systems, a business app developers can ensure secure API integration through the following:

• Proper authentication;
• Rate limiting, and
• Encryption.

Configuration Security

Securing your application and system configurations minimizes the risk of misconfigurations. Key practices include:

• Using secure default configurations and avoiding using default passwords.
• Disabling unnecessary services and features to reduce the attack surface.
• Regularly reviewing and updating configuration settings as part of routine maintenance.

Emerging Technologies for App Security

Emerging technologies always come with the potential to strengthen the security of applications against sophisticated cyber attacks. 

As cyber threats rapidly evolve, it becomes critical for service providers to incorporate rigorous cybersecurity practices with the following technologies:

Blockchain

Blockchain is revolutionizing the future of app development. Its immutable and decentralized nature enhances data transparency and security while enabling innovative functionalities. 

As a result, incorporating blockchain for application security makes it more difficult for cybercriminals to tamper with data. 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

AI and ML in app development have been making waves as virtual assistants and chatbots within the service industry. 

Today, these technologies are used in security systems to detect and respond to real-time cyber threats. By analyzing large amounts of data, they can identify patterns and irregularities that indicate potential attacks, enabling faster and more precise responses. 

Zero-Trust Security Model

The Zero-Trust Security Model is a framework that follows the principle of “Never Trust, Always Verify.” This approach requires users to authenticate, authorize, and continuously validate their security configuration and posture before accessing applications. 

As a result, it can significantly reduce the chances of unauthorized access and lateral movement within the system. 

Safeguard Your Apps from Cyber Threats

Protecting your applications against cyber threats requires a proactive approach that involves the following:

• Data encryption;
• Secure authentication;
• Real-time monitoring, and
• Leveraging emerging technologies.

While implementing these best practices is crucial, working with a trusted business application development services provider can further enhance app security. Their expert guidance and advanced tools can ensure that your apps are protected from evolving cyber threats.