Web Application Security: OWASP Top 10 Guide

Web application security is not optional. In 2023, the average cost of a data breach was $4.45 million. Knowing and preventing the most common vulnerabilities is essential.

OWASP Top 10 2023

1. Broken Access Control

Users accessing resources without authorization.

Prevention:

• Implement deny-by-default access control
• Validate permissions on every server request
• Log and alert access control failures

2. Cryptographic Failures

Exposure of sensitive data due to weak or absent cryptography.

Prevention:

• Use HTTPS on all connections
• Encrypt data at rest and in transit
• Use modern algorithms (AES-256, bcrypt)

3. Injection

SQL injection, command injection, etc.

Prevention:

• Use parameterized queries
• Validate and sanitize all inputs
• Escape special characters

4. Insecure Design

Architectural flaws that cannot be fixed with code.

Prevention:

• Threat modeling from design
• Secure design patterns
• Architecture review by experts

5. Security Misconfiguration

Insecure default configurations.

Prevention:

• Remove unused features
• Automate configuration verification
• Keep software updated

Security Tools

• OWASP ZAP: Free vulnerability scanner
• Burp Suite: Penetration testing
• SonarQube: Static code analysis
• Snyk: Dependency vulnerabilities

Our Security Approach

At Pekka Soft, security is integrated throughout our development process:

• Security-focused code review
• Penetration testing before each release
• Continuous team training
• Production vulnerability monitoring