Input Validation Errors: The Core of Website Security Evils

In the past few years with the rise of technological innovations, there has been an increase in the number and sophistication of security breaches. Poor input validation has turned out to be the root cause of these embarrassing data breaches reported in the last few years. While compiling the code, the developers create input fields for the users to enter whatever they wish. The website is secure until the unchecked input fields are not used for hacking.

Let’s see why input validation is crucial for website security

What Is Input Validation?

Websites processing input data from users or a wide range of systems should ensure that it is valid. Validation is carried on a variety of levels ranging from simply verifying the input types and lengths i.e. syntactic validation to ensuring the inserted values are valid in the application context i.e. semantic validation.

For websites, input validation is nothing but verifying the values inserted in the input field ensuring date, email address and other details inserted in the field are valid. This is the initial step for client-side validation performed directly in the browser and submitted values are verified on the server-side.

Input Validation is a commonly used method to check potentially dangerous inputs ensuring they are safe to be processed within the code.

Consequences of Improper Input Validation

Input validation reduces the attack surface minimizing the impact that tends to succeed. Improper input validation leads to incorrect results on the website or even crash. Insufficient input validation degrades the user experience on the website. If the registration form fails to detect the incorrect details entered on the form, the user won’t be able to confirm the account.

Also, there might be a circumstance where the invalid data clears the validation process on the browser side and is trapped during server validation. This process might take a longer duration to drive a response to the user.

How can we ensure Proper Input Validation?

Earlier, input fields were validated using the JavaScript either manually or with the help of a dedicated library. It’s better to look for the existing validation features rather than implementing validation since it is a tedious process. Languages and frameworks are consisting of built-in validators ensuring reliable and easier input validation.

• Blacklist and Whitelist Based Validation

Typically input validation for website security is carried out by blocking elements that can be used for an injection attack. Apostrophes and semicolons can be disabled to prevent SQL injection, parenthesis can be banned to stop a malicious user from inserting a JavaScript function. This is nothing but blacklisting elements and it is not advisable to use the technique. Blacklist-based validation is not feasible to implement since the developer can’t predict all the attack vectors which might help the hacker to bypass the validation.

Whitelist based validation can be used for well-defined input variables like numbers, dates, postcodes, etc. Whitelist based validation will help you to state the permitted values and reject the other input values. HTML5 format delivers a predefined whitelisting logic with built-in data type definitions where the inputs fields have predefined validations. 

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CDN Solutions: Business Benefits, Use Cases & Future Scope

 

Benefits of Content Delivery Networks & Future Scope

In today’s digital and Internet age, websites serve as the first point of contact between an outsider and enterprises. Without having a dedicated website, it becomes quite difficult for organizations to establish trust among the potential end-customers. To drive in customer trust, all businesses, irrespective of their sizes, now have their website. Today, various organizations exist across industries like e-Commerce, video sharing, or OTT who run their businesses through websites only. For such organizations, a Content Delivery Network or CDN solution is necessary.

Defining PoP

A PoP or point of presence defines a physical location where multiple CDN Edge Servers are present. Multiple PoP present at different geographical locations forms the entire CDN network. Also, the number of PoPs of a CDN provider has a direct and huge impact on expanding the global reach. PoPs play an important for storing and caching the static content. The static content can be easily cached as compared to the dynamic content.

Rather than the user placing his request to a distant data center (PoP), he can easily do it with localized PoPs, having a much shorter distance. By feeding requests to the localized PoPs, there is a significant decrease in the RTTs (Round Trip Times), resulting in better performance of applications.

ESDS’ Enlight CDN PoPs in India

CDN providers like ESDS have deployed their multiple PoPs across India for delivering the fastest & cost-effective CDN Solution to their localized users.

Defining CDN Solutions

A CDN depicts a network of data centers along with proxy servers that are geographically distributed. A CDN solution’s core aim is to offer end-customers with localized servers, known as PoPs (points of presence), to reduce latency and enhance load balancing. Low latency in content delivery in real-time results in an improved and faster user experience. CDN providers like ESDS are playing an important role in the Internet domain by offering enhanced user experience. The advanced technologies adopted and applied by these CDN providers are focused on enhancing customer experience using numerous techniques.

How Do CDNs Benefit Websites and Other Online Platforms?

For any CDN Solution, the ultimate benefit they offer is enhanced user experience by reducing latency in fetching real-time data. Other added benefits of a CDN solution includes

Benefits of CDN

1. Reduced Loading Time and Latency

Geographical locations play an essential role in download speed and latency since the CDN will receive and distribute traffic to the nearest available PoP. Hence, a strong CDN network helps reduce webpage loading time and increases the data transmission rate. Nowadays, CDN providers are also using other methods for faster data transmission. They are using advanced technologies for managing the caching servers. The cached content gets distributed as per demand, making it readily available to the user. CDN providers can also increase the user’s incoming requests’ response speed with the caching content placed closer to the customer.

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India’s own Banking Community Cloud

 

Indian Banks are experiencing a colossal change in their banking processes due to rapid evolution of technology in their vertical. Banks of all sizes in India have understood the importance of cloud based banking services and how these services can aid their issues. Earlier banks had to contact an IT personnel to provide additional applications and compute power which was very time consuming and would delay the decision making process. Hence, now-a-days IT is no longer seen as a complex scenario and the banks have started recognizing the opportunity and scope in cloud computing services.

ESDS introduced the world with the concept of Community Cloud which includes common concerns of a particular industry like security, compliance and service norms. The World’s First Banking Community Cloud is presented exclusively to the financial sector by ESDS which comprises of all the cloud based services for the industry. Indian banks have taken it up a notch to enter the IT field and adopt Cloud Computing and benefit from its matched services. SaaS is supported as a part of Banking Community Cloud which provides ready to use Core Banking Solutions, Payment Solutions, Mobile Banking and many more services. With a mix of PaaS, we have various Independent Software Vendors who cater to their own banking customers where they deploy the same software and continuously update through the management portal offered by us. ESDS along with its widespread network of partners has formed India’s first Application Service Providers (ASP) model to offer solutions to banks for their each and every kind of need.

ESDS has expertise in working with over 280+ banks which includes private, PSUs, district co-operatives, apex banks, scheduled and other financial institutions and organizations. The Banking Community Cloud has been developed by keeping in mind the smallest of concerns raised by banks. The three main issues which are generally faced by banks are; security of their data, complying with industry standards and finally having control of their data and applications. When banks choose to adopt the community cloud, they receive benefits like: secured services, efficient utilization of resources, flexibility in business and a reduction in total cost of ownership because they are relieved of purchasing any physical hardware or software licenses. We provide everything from basic IT infrastructure to hosted payment platform and digital banking services to optimum security for your bank’s website through VTMScan. Banks who wish to migrate to our Community Cloud receive end-to-end support for infrastructure management and colocations services.

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SD-WAN Securing Dynamic Networks

Internet Native applications and services are demanding more performance, bandwidth, and flexibility forcing Networks to evolve. Enterprises rely heavily on WAN networks for connecting their branch offices and ensure uninterrupted connectivity to remote locations. They are investing heavily in WAN infrastructure and the resulting maintenance costs. Software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN), hybrid WAN, network function virtualization (NFV), and application performance management (APM) are some new technologies able to meet these needs.

The unstoppable growth in data volumes due to the Digital transformation is prompting organizations to deploy these new networking technologies to push ever more business traffic over cellular networks and public Internet links pushing it outside the boundaries of an organization. Resulting in the disappearance of the traditional security perimeter and increased number of internet breakouts, thus multiplying the number of potential points of entry for hackers to exploit. It’s a complex, vulnerable environment, that’s both difficult and vital to protect.

MPLS and Ethernet services are still playing an important part in the network landscape, the rise in the importance of these new technologies means that they need to be included in wider networking, with an embedded security strategy that incorporates cellular bandwidth provision and local Internet breakout.

A parallel change can be observed in the role of Security Technology in the new virtualized environment driven by the evolution of Network Technology. Earlier it was easier to design a network with the hardware and software applications in the data center being the focus of the security defenses. As software extends to start controlling the network it will also require to control the security.

The process starts with the virtualization of core network security devices and ends with completely connected and streamline defenses, security controls, responses, and processes around events. Dynamic networking availability translates to data destinations increasingly hosted on virtualized technology in a customer’s network, creating a need for visualized network security function to flex with the network. Any move to a virtualized environment requires it to smooth and seamless, fast and most of all, and automated. ESDS SDWAN services simplify complex challenges helping organizations to quickly streamline or orchestrate a range of security services from basic service management through to full incident response and threat intelligence. For the success of full security technology and process life-cycle, dedicated support from skilled professionals. 

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