What's to worry about Web Security ?
Computing Security,Information Security, NT security, Web Security and Network Security Questions and Answers
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What's to worry about Web Security ?
Unfortunately, there's a lot to worry about. There are security risks that affect Web servers, the local area networks that host Web sites, and even innocent users of Web browsers.
The risks are most severe from the Webmaster's perspective. The moment you install a Web server at your site, you've opened a window into your local network that the entire Internet can peer through. Most visitors are content to window shop, but a few will try to to peek at things you don't intend for public consumption. Others, not content with looking without touching, will attempt to force the window open and crawl in. The results can range from the merely embarassing, for instance the discovery one morning that your site's home page has been replaced by an obscene parody, to the damaging, for example the theft of your entire database of customer information.
It's a maxim in system security circles that buggy software opens up security holes. It's a maxim in software development circles that large, complex programs contain bugs. Unfortunately, Web servers are large, complex programs that can (and in some cases have been proven to) contain security holes. Furthermore, the open architecture of Web servers allows arbitrary CGI scripts to be executed on the server's side of the connection in response to remote requests. Any CGI script installed at your site may contain bugs, and every such bug is a potential security hole.
From the point of view of the network administrator, a Web server represents yet another potential hole in your local network's security. The general goal of network security is to keep strangers out. Yet the point of a Web site is to provide the world with controlled access to your network. Drawing the line can be difficult. A poorly configured Web server can punch a hole in the most carefully designed firewall system. A poorly configured firewall can make a Web site impossible to use. Things get particularly complicated in an intranet environment, where the Web server must typically be configured to recognize and authenticate various groups of users, each with distinct access privileges.
To the end-user, Web surfing feels both safe and anonymous. It's not. Active content, such as ActiveX controls and Java applets, introduces the possibility that Web browsing will introduce viruses or other malicious software into the user's system. Active content also has implications for the network administrator, insofar as Web browsers provide a pathway for malicious software to bypass the firewall system and enter the local area network. Even without active content, the very act of browsing leaves an electronic record of the user's surfing history, from which unscrupulous individuals can reconstruct a very accurate profile of the user's tastes and habits.
Finally, both end-users and Web administrators need to worry about the confidentiality of the data transmitted across the Web. The TCP/IP protocol was not designed with security in mind; hence it is vulnerable to network eavesdropping. When confidential documents are transmitted from the Web server to the browser, or when the end-user sends private information back to the server inside a fill-out form, someone may be listening in.
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Other Interview Questions
- How can I avoid computer viruses?
- What makes a strong password?
- What is Spyware?
- How can I avoid Spyware?
- What is a Firewall?
- How can I protect my home computer?
- I'm new to the Internet and have been hearing a lot about viruses. I'm not exactly sure what they are. Can you help?
- I've been hearing a lot about firewalls, but I'm not sure what it is or if I need it. Can you help?
- What is the security threat level today at the Internet Storm Center (ISC).
- What is this (X) IDS signature mean?
- SEM/SIM Security information management questions
- Checking on the interviewee's knowledge of legal issues and information security
- Use the out put from any network security scanner, which ever network security scanner is used by the interviewer
- How well the person can do architecture from scratch ...
- Where do I get patches, or, what is a Service Pack or a Hot Fix?
- What is impersonation?
- What is a SID (Security ID)?
- What are privileges (user rights)?
- What is an ACE (Access Control Entry)?
- What is an ACL (Access Control List)?
- What is SRM (Security Reference Monitor)?
- What is LSA (Local Security Authority)?
- What is SAM (Security Account Manager)?
- What is a secure channel?
- What is an access token?
- Host security
- Are there any NT based viruses, or can NT be susceptible for other viruses?
- How do I get my computer C2-level secure, or, what is c2config?
- Are there any known problems with the screen saver / screen lock program?
- How can I secure my client computers against my users?
- Can my page file hold sensitive data?
- User security
- Administrator account
- Guest account
- Network security
- Is NT susceptible to SYN flood attacks?
- Is it possible to use packet filters on an NT machine?
- What ports must I enable to let NBT (NetBios over TCP/IP) through my firewall
- What is Authenticode?
- What should I think about when using SNMP?
- What servers have TCP ports opened on my NT system? Or: Is netstat broken?
- What are giant packets? Or, is Windows NT susceptible to the PING attack?
- What is a NULL session?
- Web server security
- FTP server security
- What is Rollback.exe ?
- What is Shutdown.exe
- What is AFTP, NVAlert and NVRunCmd
- There are several security issues related to ODBC usage ...
- There are a number of things to do to get better security on remote connections ...
- By default, all auditing in Windows NT is turned off. You have to manually turn on auditing on whatever object you want audited ...
- Can I grant access to someone to view or change the logfiles?
- What is CryptoAPI
- Where is the password that I configure a service to start with stored?
- How do we “lock down” a new system?
- Securing New Systems questions
- Password Management questions
- Anti-Virus questions
- Software Maintenance questions
- Backups questions
- Physical Security questions
- Network Security questions
- Wireless Security questions
- Data Security questions
- Intrusion Detection and Recovery questions
- Disaster Recovery Planning questions
- Current Awareness of Security Issues questions
- Security interview questions for network admin questions
- What's to worry about Web Security ?
- Exactly what security risks are we talking about?
- Are some operating systems more secure to use as platforms for Web servers than others?
- Are some Web server software programs more secure than others?
- Are CGI scripts insecure?
- Are server-side includes insecure?
- What general security precautions should I take?
- How do I secure Windows 2000 and IIS 5.0?
- What is the URLScan Security Tool?
- What is the IIS Lockdown Tool?
- What is the HFNetChk Security Tool?
- What is the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer?
- What do you see as the most critical and current threats effecting Internet accessible websites?
- What online resources do you use to keep abreast of web security issues? Can you give an example of a recent web security vulnerability or threat?
- What do you see as challenges to successfully deploying/monitoring web intrusion detection?
- What is your definition of the term "Cross-Site Scripting"? What is the potential impact to servers and clients?
- What are the most important steps you would recommend for securing a new web server? Web application?
- Imagine that we are running an Apache reverse proxy server and one of the servers we are proxy for is a Windows IIS server. What does the log entry suggest has happened?
- You are engaged in a penetration-test where you are attempting to gain access to a protected location. You are presented with this login screen:
- What application generated the log file entry below? What type of attack is this?
- What does this log entry indicate? How could you identify what the contents are of the "hacked.htm" file that the attacker is trying to upload?
- The file is called "logon_validate" and a typical logon request looks like this ?
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