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Test de pénétration d'application Web : qu'est-ce que c'est ?

Test de pénétration d’application Web : qu’est-ce que c’est ?

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Le test de pénétration d’application Web est une méthode pour vérifier la sécurité des applications Web. Découvrez comment cela fonctionne !

C’est également connu sous le nom de test de pénétration d’application web ou de test de sécurité, qui est une évaluation organisée de la sécurité d’une application web pour identifier l’exposition et la faiblesse qui pourraient être exploitées par des acteurs malveillants.

1. Identifying the target application and its environment. 

2. Gathering information about the target application. 

3. Identifying potential vulnerabilities. 

4. Exploiting the identified vulnerabilities. 

5. Documenting the results and providing recommendations. 

Le test d’intrusion des applications web, également connu sous le nom de test de sécurité ou de test d’intrusion, est une évaluation organisée de la sécurité d’une application web afin d’identifier les expositions et les faiblesses qui pourraient être exploitées par des acteurs malveillants. L’objectif principal du test d’intrusion est d’évaluer de manière proactive la posture de sécurité d’une application web et d’identifier les vulnérabilités potentielles avant que des attaquants ne puissent les exploiter.

Pendant un test d’intrusion d’application web, des professionnels de la sécurité qualifiés, connus sous le nom de testeurs d’intrusion ou de hackers éthiques, simulent divers scénarios d’attaque pour découvrir les failles de sécurité qui pourraient entraîner un accès non autorisé, des violations de données ou d’autres activités malveillantes. Le processus implique les points suivants :

1. Identification de l’application cible et de son environnement.

2. Recueil d’informations sur l’application cible.

3. Identification des vulnérabilités potentielles.

4. Exploitation des vulnérabilités identifiées.

5. Documentation des résultats et fourniture de recommandations.

Le test d’intrusion des applications web est un processus essentiel pour assurer la sécurité des logiciels et des systèmes informatiques. Les tests d’intrusion peuvent être effectués manuellement ou automatiquement à l’aide de logiciels spécialisés. Ces outils peuvent être utilisés pour rechercher des vulnérabilités connues et des failles de sécurité dans les applications web et les systèmes informatiques. Les tests d’intrusion peuvent également être effectués pour vérifier si les applications web respectent les normes et les réglementations en matière de sécurité.

Les tests d

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Révision de code sécurisée

Révision de code sécurisée

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La sécurité des systèmes informatiques est une priorité absolue. La révision de code sécurisée est un moyen essentiel pour assurer la sécurité des données et des systèmes.

## Examen de code sécurisé : essentiel pour assurer la sécurité et l’intégrité des applications logicielles

La revue de code sécurisée est essentielle pour assurer la sécurité et l’intégrité des applications logicielles. En examinant la base de code à la recherche de vulnérabilités et de faiblesses potentielles, les développeurs peuvent identifier et traiter les problèmes de sécurité avant que des acteurs malveillants ne les exploitent. Cet article discutera des meilleures pratiques pour mener une revue de code sécurisée complète et efficace.

Définir les exigences de sécurité

Avant de commencer une revue de code, il est essentiel d’établir des exigences de sécurité précises pour l’application. Ces exigences doivent être conformes aux meilleures pratiques et aux normes de conformité pertinentes pour votre projet. En définissant les objectifs et objectifs de sécurité à l’avance, le réviseur peut fournir un cadre pour évaluer le code et identifier les éventuelles lacunes en matière de sécurité.

Analyse de l’architecture

Une fois les exigences de sécurité définies, le réviseur peut passer à l’analyse de l’architecture. Il est important d’examiner la structure globale du code et de comprendre comment les différents composants interagissent entre eux. Cette étape permet au réviseur d’identifier des points faibles potentiels et d’analyser la façon dont les données sensibles sont traitées et stockées. Il est également important de vérifier si l’application respecte les normes de sécurité et les bonnes pratiques en matière d’architecture.

Examen du code source

Une fois que l’architecture a été analysée, le réviseur peut passer à l’examen du code source. Cette étape implique la recherche de vulnérabilités potentielles, telles que les failles d’injection SQL, les failles XSS et les failles de type buffer overflow. Il est également important de vérifier si le code respecte les normes et les bonnes pratiques en matière de codage. Le réviseur peut également rechercher des erreurs logiques ou des erreurs dans le traitement des données sensibles.

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Risques et solutions de sécurité de la virtualisation

Risques et solutions de sécurité de la virtualisation

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La virtualisation offre de nombreux avantages, mais elle comporte aussi des risques et des défis en matière de sécurité. Découvrons ensemble les solutions pour les gérer.

## Risques de sécurité liés à la virtualisation

Attacks on Virtual Machines

VMs are the main target of attackers in a virtualized environment. Attackers can exploit vulnerabilities in the operating system or applications running on the VMs to gain access to the virtualization environment. Once they gain access, they can launch attacks on other VMs or steal sensitive data.

Hypervisor Attacks

The hypervisor is the core component of virtualization technology. It is responsible for managing the VMs and other virtualization components. Attackers can exploit vulnerabilities in the hypervisor to gain access to the virtualization environment and launch attacks on other VMs.

Solution pour les risques de sécurité liés à la virtualisation

Les organisations du monde entier adoptent de plus en plus la technologie de virtualisation pour ses nombreux avantages, tels que des économies de coûts, une efficacité améliorée, une flexibilité, une scalabilité et une récupération en cas de sinistre. Cependant, l’adoption accrue de la technologie de virtualisation a également entraîné une augmentation des risques de sécurité. Les risques de sécurité liés à la virtualisation sont causés par divers facteurs, tels que les vulnérabilités du logiciel de virtualisation, les attaques sur les machines virtuelles (VMs) et les attaques sur le hyperviseur. Cet article examine les risques de sécurité liés à la virtualisation et les solutions pour les atténuer.

Vulnérabilités du logiciel de virtualisation

Le logiciel de virtualisation est le cœur de la technologie de virtualisation. Il est responsable de la gestion des VMs, du hyperviseur et des autres composants de la virtualisation. Les vulnérabilités du logiciel de virtualisation peuvent être exploitées par des attaquants pour obtenir un accès non autorisé à l’environnement de virtualisation. Les attaquants peuvent exploiter ces vulnérabilités pour prendre le contrôle de l’environnement de virtualisation, voler des données sensibles et lancer des attaques sur d’autres VMs dans l’environnement virtuel.

Attaques sur les machines virtuelles

Les VMs sont la principale cible des attaquants dans un environnement virtualisé. Les attaquants peuvent exploiter des vulnérabilités du système d’exploitation ou des applications exécutées sur les VMs pour accéder à l’environnement de virtualisation. Une fois qu’ils ont accès, ils peuvent lancer des attaques sur d’autres VMs ou voler des données sensibles.

Attaques sur le hyperviseur

Le hyperviseur est le composant principal de la technologie de virtualisation. Il est responsable de la gestion des VMs et des autres composants de la virtualisation. Les attaquants peuvent exploiter des vulnérabilités du hyperviseur pour accéder à l’environnement de virtualisation et lancer des attaques sur d’autres VMs.

Mesures pour atténuer les risques de sécurité liés à la virtualisation

Il existe plusieurs mesures qui peuvent être prises pour atténuer les risques de sécurité liés à la virtualisation. L’une des principales mesures est l’utilisation d’une stratégie de sécurité robuste pour protéger le système contre les menaces externes et internes. La stratégie devrait inclure des mesures telles que l’utilisation d’un pare-feu pour bloquer les connexions non autorisées, la mise en œuvre d’une politique stricte d’accès aux données et l’utilisation d’outils de codage pour assurer la sécurité des données sensibles. De plus, il est important que les administrateurs système mettent à jour régulièrement le logiciel et le matériel afin d’atténuer les vul

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4 Major Steps Of Web Application Penetration Testing

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In the early days of the internet, security was little but an afterthought. Then as hackers started to exploit businesses’ lax security postures, things gradually started to change. At first, nonprofits like the Electronic Frontier Foundation started pushing web users to embrace HTTPS Everywhere. In response, certification authorities began offering free SSL certificate variations to any site admin that wanted one. As a result, at least 79.6% of all active websites now use SSL.

That was only the beginning. In the ensuing years, developers and web application administrators gradually started to harden their apps against all manner of attacks. They rolled out more complex password requirements. They started to add two-factor authentication as a default measure. They even started putting public-facing services behind high-performance web application firewalls.

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API Security Weekly: Issue 162

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This week, we have details of compromised Google Cloud accounts being used to mine cryptocurrency (mainly with weak or no passwords on API connections), there’s an article on how GraphQL can be used as an API gateway (including security controls), a very comprehensive guide to all things relating to API security, and a new API security training course from AppSecEngineer.

Vulnerability: Compromised Google Cloud Accounts Used to Mine Cryptocurrency

The main story this week comes from HackerNews and describes how attackers are able to exploit improperly secured Google Cloud Platform (GCP) tenants. The impact on affected users included compromising their cloud resources, like uploading cryptocurrency mining software, and ransomware and phishing attacks.

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6 Simple Steps to a Career in Web Design

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No one likes talking about money. Most of us got into web design because we loved it. But the fact is, we’ve all got bills to pay.

If you’re a half-decent designer or a relatively competent developer, then there’s no reason you can’t make a living as a web designer. Here are six simple steps towards earning a living using the skills you already have.

Step 1. Freelance Work

Many individual bloggers and small company owners require websites to reach a larger audience. You might exploit this opportunity to begin a side business as a freelancer.

One of the most efficient ways to start is to look through employment networks and online classifieds. Eventually though, you’re going to need a portfolio. Building your freelancing company website could be your first opportunity to demonstrate your web development talents. As you embark on new projects, this website can display client testimonials that demonstrate your expertise. Ensure that it’s up to date, relevant, and follows current design trends. Also, make sure your website is linked to your social media profiles. 

Even though you are responsible for finding clients, you have a great deal of flexibility: you can choose your working hours and exercise more freedom and creativity. However, you’d still be accountable for your work and have to execute assignments on time to keep your clients satisfied.

It’s also important to remember that you’ll have to keep track of your taxes and other financial paperwork. Furthermore, you would not have a standard employer who will provide you with health insurance and other perks.

Step 2. Specialize

Today’s market offers a wide choice of web design services most suited to our needs. From designing and building custom websites to creating social media websites to managing SEO and PPCs, web design services offer various services. And while it is beneficial to have a general understanding of what all these services entail, it is always good to identify and refine your expertise. Becoming proficient in one aspect of web design will give you more confidence and direction regarding the kind of work you would like to do.

Allowing yourself to land repeat clients specializing in one type of service will make it easier for you to create processes in your business to complete work accurately and quickly. These processes will also help you build a team should you need one.  

Step 3. Networking Effectively

You should leverage social networking sites such as LinkedIn, practical tools for engaging with colleagues and potential customers. Ensure your profile is updated with all the services offered and all talents you deliver. Make sure you include links to any past projects you’ve worked on. There’s also a career board on LinkedIn that can help you avail yourself of many freelance projects. Registering and engaging with relevant organizations can allow you to acquire more visibility.

Freelancers are generally matched with modest design/development assignments through these websites. Although some developers heavily vouch for them, getting work from these websites when you’re just starting may be exceedingly challenging, considering most of your time will be exhausted in securing billable employment. 

Step 4. Start Your Own Blog or Podcast

Blogs and podcasts are an excellent way to organically acquire fresh customers and other relevant parties. A well-written blog is a terrific source of amusement and knowledge for potential clients. Aside from showcasing your services, a blog may be used to earn money in various ways. Once the blog grows large enough, you can incorporate backlinks, ads, or author-sponsored content. Many popular blogs eventually grow into fully-fledged businesses.

When you start a blog from scratch, it can take a long time to see a return on investment. Consider producing freelance articles for a blog with a constant stream of traffic to help you get started. This will enable you to demonstrate your skills while also getting compensated for them. 

Step 5. Work at a Design Agency

Working at a design agency or in-house could be an ideal option if you desire a more traditional job title. It also helps you build your portfolio with larger and more recognizable clients than those you can secure as a freelancer.

Instead of stressing about the management side of things, you can focus on serving clients and constructing websites with this approach. You wouldn’t have to look for new clients, and you’ll get all of the paid benefits that regular employees get. However, you’d have to work under strict supervision and have less creative control over your projects. There will also be harsh deadlines looming over your shoulder. And this procedure will also set a wage ceiling for you. On the other hand, obtaining employee insurance and securing a source of income can be very reassuring.

Step 6. Start Your Own Agency

Once you feel you have enough relevant experience and are confident in your abilities to perform and manage things well, you can start your own agency. It’s like freelance work, but on a much larger scale. The flexibility to employ others to do your work is the fundamental advantage of having your own agency. You can recruit additional designers and eventually recruiters to help you secure clients.

Having your own agency allows you to do the work you want and how you desire. As a general rule, start as a freelancer and gradually create the foundations for your agency as you gain expertise. You can eventually automate the entire process with hard effort and an innovative business plan.

You must actively network with other people in your business and reach out to new clients in addition to working on your skills. If you can create a solid customer base and take measured chances with your chosen projects, you can procure meatier projects and become prominent in the corporate sector.

 

Featured image via Unsplash.

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Top 3 Chatbot Security Vulnerabilities in 2022

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Chatbots Are Here To Stay

Chatbots have been around for a long time and based on the global chatbot market size (and the expected growth), they will stick around for a long time and gain importance. In the past, they’ve rarely met customer expectations or provided much positive experience. However, over the last few years, advances in conversational AI have transformed how they can be used. Since chatbots offer a wide range of applications, in certain cases, they become responsible for collecting and protecting personal information as well. 
Consequently, they are a great attraction for hackers and malicious attacks too. The responsibility of ensuring chatbot security has become more evident after the introduction of GDPR in Europe. As statistics show that this technology will be a determining factor in our lives, security testing must also become part of our daily tasks, so that these chatbots can be used with confidence.

Security Risks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities                 

The words risk, threat, and vulnerability are often confused or used interchangeably when reading about computer security, so let’s first clarify the terminology:

  • Vulnerability refers to a weakness in your software (or hardware, or in your processes, or anything related). In other words, it’s a way hackers could find their way into and exploit your systems.
  • A threat exploits a vulnerability and can cause loss, damage, or destruction of an asset – threats exploit vulnerabilities.                
  • Risk refers to the potential for lost, damaged, or destroyed assets – threats + vulnerability = risk! 
The well-known OWASP Top 10 is a list of top security risks for a web application. Most chatbots out there are available over a public web frontend, and as such, all the OWASP security risks apply to those chatbots as well. Out of these risks, there are two especially important to defend against, as in contrast to the other risks, those two are nearly always a serious threat — XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) and SQL Injection.
In addition, for artificial intelligence-enabled chatbots, there is an increased risk for Denial of Service attacks, due to the higher amount of computing resources involved.

Vulnerability 1: XSS – Cross-Site Scripting

A typical implementation of a chatbot user interface:           

           

  • There is a chat window with an input box.
  • Everything the user enters in the input box is mirrored in the chat window.
  • Chatbot response is shown in the chat window.

The XSS vulnerability is in the second step — when entering text including malicious Javascript code, the XSS attack is fulfilled when the web browser is running the injected code:

 <script>alert(document.cookie)</script>              

Possible Attack Vector

For exploiting an XSS vulnerability the attacker has to trick the victim to send malicious input text. It can be done through one of the following ways:

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Killing Cloud Security Misconceptions: Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs)

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Background

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) tells us the whole story just by its name — these are exposures and vulnerabilities that are common. But what happens when uncommon issues are discovered and exploited by attackers? What if attackers just want us to think they’d only exploit common issues and vulnerabilities?

Securing CVEs sounds like it should be the right place to start from. Exploring common vulnerabilities and exposure is where script kiddies start from, that’s what bots are exploiting, and none of us want to end up in the security hall of shame, set aside for organizations that were exploited and affected by ransomware, thanks to an unpatched CVE from months ago.

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10 Reasons Your WordPress Site Will Get Hacked (and How to Stop It)

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A hacked WordPress site is as damaging as having your home burgled. It can completely shatter your peace of mind and adversely impact your online business. 

Why do hackers target WordPress sites? The answer is relatively simple: WordPress is the single biggest platform for website creation these days, so there’s a larger base to attack; this attracts the attention of online criminals. 

So, how can a hack impact your website? 

Depending on the type of attack, your website could suffer any of the following:

  • It could be defaced completely;
  • It could load or operate very slowly on any device;
  • It could completely crash and malfunction;
  • It could display the dreadful “White Screen of Death”;
  • Its incoming visitors could be redirected to other suspicious websites;
  • It could lose all your valuable customer data.

This list is not exhaustive but you get the idea.

Now that we know how a successful hack can impact your website and online business, let us look at the top 10 reasons behind WP hacks and prevent them.

1. An Insecure Web Host 

Like any website, WordPress is hosted on a web host or server. Unfortunately, most site owners do not pay much attention to the web host they select and choose the cheapest they can find. For example, it is more affordable to host a website on a shared hosting plan — one that shares its server resources with many other websites like yours.

This can make your site vulnerable to hackers as a successful hack into any website on the shared server. A single hacked site can consume the overall server bandwidth and impact all the other sites’ performance.

The only way to fix this problem is to opt for a reliable host and a virtual or dedicated server.

Pro tip: If you’re already using a shared hosting plan, check with your hosts if they offer VPS hosting and make the switch.

2. Use of Weak Passwords

Weak passwords are the main reason behind successful brute force attacks that target your account. Even to this day, users continue to use weak and common passwords like “password” or “123456”; if you’re one of them, your website could land in trouble!

Guessing weak passwords allows hackers to enter the admin accounts where they can inflict the maximum damage.

How do you fix this problem? Simple, ensure all your account users (including admin users) configure strong passwords for their login credentials. With at least 8 characters, passwords must be a mix of upper- and lower-case alphabets, numbers, and symbols. 

For added safety, install a password management tool that can automatically generate and store strong passwords.

Pro tip: You can use a plugin to reset passwords for all your users.

3. An Outdated WP Version

Outdated software is among the most common reasons why websites get hacked. Despite being free to download, most site users defer updating their site to the latest version, for fears of updates causing their site to crash.

Hackers take advantage of any vulnerability or bug in an older version and cause issues like SQL Injections, WP-VCD Malware, SEO Spam & other major issues like website redirecting to another site.

How do you solve this problem? When you see a notification about an update on your dashboard, update your site as soon as possible.

Pro tip: If you are worried about updates crashing your live website, you can first test the updates on a staging site.

4. Outdated WP Plugins and Themes

Similar to the previous point, hackers also take advantage of outdated, unused, or abandoned plugins and themes installed on websites. With over 55,000 plugins and themes that are available, it is easy to install a plugin or theme, even from unsafe or untrusted websites. 

Plus, many users do not update their installed plugins/themes to the latest version or do not find the updated version. This makes it easier for hackers to do their job & infect sites.

How do you avoid this problem? As with the core WP version, update each of your installed plugins/themes on your site regularly. Take stock of all the unused ones and remove them or replace them with better alternatives.

You can update your plugins/themes from your hosting account.

Pro tip: We suggest setting aside time every week to run updates. Test them on a staging site and then update your site.

5. Common Admin Usernames 

In addition to weak passwords, users also create common usernames that are easy to guess. 

This includes common usernames for admin users like – “admin”, “admin1”, or “admin123”. Common admin usernames make it easier for hackers to get into admin accounts and control backend files in your WP installation.

How do you avoid this problem? If you are using any such usernames that are easy to guess, change them immediately to a unique username. The easiest way of doing it is through your hosting account’s user management tool, by deleting the previous admin user and creating a new admin user with a unique username.

As the first step, change the default username of your admin user and limit users who have administrator privileges.

Pro tip: WordPress has 6 different user roles with limited permissions. Only grant admin access to users who really need it.

6. Use of Nulled Plugins/Themes 

Coming back to the importance of plugins/themes, users have access to many websites that sell nulled or pirated copies of popular and paid plugins and themes. While these are free to use, they are often riddled with malware. They can compromise your website’s overall security and make it easier for hackers to exploit. 

Being a pirated copy, nulled plugins/themes do not have any available updates from its development team, hence will not have any security fixes.

How do you fix this problem? Simple, for a start, only download original plugins and themes from trusted websites and marketplaces.

Pro tip: If you don’t wish to pay for paid or premium plugins and themes, opt for a free version of the same tools that will have limited features but are still safer to use than the nulled version. 

7. Unprotected Access to wp-admin Folder

To take control of your site, hackers often try to break into and control your wp-admin folder in your installation. As the website owner, you must take measures to protect your wp-admin directory.

How can you protect your wp-admin folder? First, restrict the number of users having access to this critical folder. Additionally, apply for password protection as an added layer of security for access to the wp-admin folder. You can do this using the “Password Protection Directories” feature of the cPanel in your web host account.

Pro tip: Besides these fixes, you can also implement Two Factor Authentication (or 2FA) protection for all your admin accounts.

8. Non-SSL Website

You can easily migrate your HTTP website to HTTPS by installing an SSL certificate on your site. SSL (or Secure Socket Layer) is a secure mode of encrypting any data transmission between your web server and the client browser.

Without this encryption, hackers can intercept the data and steal it. Plus, a non-secure website can have many negative implications for your business – lower SEO ranking, loss of customer trust, or a drop in incoming traffic.

How do you fix this problem? You can quickly obtain an SSL certificate from your hosting company or SSL providers. It encrypts all data that is sent from and received by your website. 

Pro tip: You can get a free SSL certificate from places like Let’s Encrypt, but these provide limit protection that will only be sufficient for a starter site or small site.

9. No Firewall Protection

Lack of firewall protection is another common reason why hackers can bypass website security measures and infiltrate the backend resources. Firewalls are the last line of defence against hackers and work like the security alarm installed on your house. Firewalls monitor web requests coming from various IP addresses, including the suspicious (or bad) ones. 

They can identify and block requests that are known to be malicious in the past, thus preventing easy access for hackers to your website domain. Web application firewalls can thwart various attacks, including brute force attacks, XSS, and SQL injections.

Pro tip: A firewall provides much-needed security and is  your first line of defence. But it’s important to also have a malware scanner installed.

10. Lack of WordPress Hardening Measures

Typically, hackers target the most vulnerable areas or weaknesses within a WP installation, to illegally access or damage the website. The WordPress team has identified these vulnerable areas and has devised a list of 12 hardening measures recommended for every website.

A few of these include:

  • Disabling the File Editor;
  • Preventing PHP execution in untrusted folders;
  • Changing the security keys;
  • Disallowing plugin installations;
  • Automatic logout of inactive users;

How do you implement these hardening measures? While some steps are easy to understand, others require the technical expertise of how WordPress works. 

Pro tip: You can implement hardening measures on your own. However, some measures require technical expertise so in these cases, it’s much easier and safer to use a plugin.

 

Featured image via Pexels.

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