How To Plug 5 Big Security Holes - ' Web Applications '
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>>WEB APPLICATIONS
The Technology
Software that lets companies create more interactive applications. This includes Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and eXtensible Markup Language, or XML), which lets Web applications perform faster; and Adobe Flash, which allows for the creation of sophisticated graphics.
Deployment and Use
Growing quickly. By October 2006, nearly 90% of companies surveyed by Forrester Research were using Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, and 65% were using Adobe Flash. Java was installed at just about every company.
The Vulnerability
By their very nature, Web apps carry the risk of making personal information visible. Indeed, hundreds of flaws in Web applications are found and reported each week, according to The SANS Institute, a leading source of security information. Not all are dangerous, but those that are allow hackers to trick applications into handing over highly sensitive data such as passwords.
Flaws in Microsoft's Windows operating system are an even bigger problem for organizations, according to Bob Zarazowski, a senior I.T. director at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "We're putting more and more important applications on the Web," he says. "It used to be behind corporate firewalls."
What To Do
Make sure your applications are well designed. At Wharton, code is reviewed by programmers who are not working on that particular project because they bring fresh perspectives. Programmers also rely on templates for security and other common routines so they can take advantage of best practices.
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