The common problem in the web application is that basically all of the users’ inputs are actually untrusted. Some cyber security tips and measures really need to be taken by application for defending themselves from the threat and the attack. Well, that means- handling user access to the application data and functionality to prevent the users from gaining that unauthorized access, also handling the user input to the app from causing malformed input with undesirable behaviors. Furthermore, handling the attacker by taking suitable and defensive measures for the particular situation, and of course, managing that application itself, enabling administrators to monitors activities and configure functionality.
So, if we look better in the internet security tips, we will always find the same information. It is certain that in almost any application the central security requirement is to control the users’ access to its data and of course-the functionality. There are many different types of users, such as authenticated users, the anonymous ones, and the administrative. How should the application be handled then? It has to be in such a way that users can read emails that are their own, not of the others.
We will now take a look at the security mechanisms that can be used to handle the application. These security mechanisms we are going to talk about represent themselves a
significant area of the application’s attack surface. Also, each of these is fundamental to an application’s overall security posture. They stood independent, but if any unpredictable issue happens in any of the security mechanism parts, everything falls apart. So, they need to be connected and all covered with the right hand to guide them.
It is not hard to guess, that because these mechanisms have the central role in addressing the core security problem, they also make up the vast majority of the typical application’s attack surface. We all know that the knowing the enemy is the first rule of the warfare, but the second then must be understanding these mechanisms truly. We will know talk about each of them and make you understand every part of the security mechanisms.
Authentication
First, to say, it is logically the most the most basic dependency in an application’s handling of user access. If we do not authenticate a user, all of them would need to be treated as anonymous, which is the worst and the weakest way of defence. You cannot stay safe by playing like this. So, what is an authentication? It is the process. The process of knowing who is the user, or who he or she, claims to be. It is used in an application by basically with the user’s name and password. Although, this is not the same for banks because there can be additional credential or multi-stage login process, which is not as simple as for the regular users. They use it for higher security requirements. Also, other authentications, such as challenge response tokens or smart cards are also used. It is really important to know and to remember, that the authentication process should be strictly carefully handled because there shouldn’t be any flaws in design and implementation. And why is that so? It is because the flaws can be taken advantages by the attackers, which will then use the user’s name and bypass password, and of course-an unauthorised access to their sensitive data and functionality. In that case, it is very important to know that the authentication mechanisms suffer a wide range in defects. Both in the design and the implementation
Session Management
There is also the another task for handling the user. We represent you the second logical task in the process of handling the user access. It is called session management. What is the session? When the login is successful into users application, the user accesses different pages and makes series of HTTP requests from its own browser. But, at that time, the different user is authenticated and when some anonymous tries to log in, it identifies the different users. It meets the way to create the session for each user and issuing the user a token that identifies the session. So, the session itself is basically the data Structure held on the server which tracks the state of the user interaction with the application. Once when the user receives the token, then he/she submits it back to the server in the subsequent HTTP request. It is enabling then the application to associate with that particular user. If he or she doesn’t do it, then the session is expired.
It is true that the attackers can use other tokens for the authentication in purpose to use the application, and they can also guess the tokens to access the different others users tokens.
Access Control
This is the final logical step. We are going talk now about the third process of handling user access. It is done by making and enforcing decisions about whether each individual request should be permitted, or it should be denied. This process is also called the authorization. Well, here is really important to know to recognize the difference between the authorization and authentication. Authentication can show which kinds of users are, and according to the different types of users, the sources are then granted or denied. That is actually the authorization or the access control. So, this is a very important part of the application.
It usually needs implementing some kind of fine-grained logic, with different considerations. Those need to be relevant for different areas of the app and also the different types of functionality. The application may support, as we know, numerous user roles. Those different roles are involving different combinations of specific privileges.
It is a good thing to know that there are the two main types of access control, and those are physical and logical. The first one limits the access to campuses, buildings, rooms, and of course-physical IT access. The logical one limits connections to the computers networks, data or different system files.
There are the four main categories of access control, and those are the mandatory access control, discretionary access control, the role-based one and the rule-based access control.
All in all, access control systems perform authorization, identification, authentication and access approval, also as the accountability of entities through login credentials. Those credentials include passwords, PINs-personal identification numbers, physical or electronic keys or even biometric scans.