Chapter 1
Web Application (In)security
There is no doubt that web application security is a current and newsworthy subject. For all concerned, the stakes are high: for businesses that derive increasing revenue from Internet commerce, for users who trust web applications with sensitive information, and for criminals who can make big money by stealing payment details or compromising bank accounts. Reputation plays a critical role. Few people want to do business with an insecure website, so few organizations want to disclose details about their own security vulnerabilities or breaches. Hence, it is not a trivial task to obtain reliable information about the state of web application security today.
This chapter takes a brief look at how web applications have evolved and the many benefits they provide. We present some metrics about vulnerabilities in current web applications, drawn from the authors' direct experience, demonstrating that the majority of applications are far from secure...