Online security has never been more of a priority for website owners and with hackers utilising ever-increasing techniques and tools to gain access to a site’s internal infrastructure and programming, it’s very important to secure a web presence. Many businesses are turning to the services of crowdsource application security testing services – all of which allow an opportunity for white hat hackers and company owners to come together, with the former offering to identify bugs and the latter offering compensation in return for positive results.
But what types of things will these ethical hackers look for exactly?
Firewall weaknesses
If there’s one shortcut that an expert can take to obtain entry to a website’s internal workings, it’s a firewall with little to no security. These are often the first things that will be tested and if an issue is spotted, it can be as simple as adding a reputable widget (as is the case when using WordPress), or installing a firewall.
Coding issues and glitches
Many sites are designed using HTML 5 and just as many rely on other platforms to create the coding and infrastructure present within their layouts and content. Most of these codes will be checked and checked again before implementation, but there are times where a slight glitch or a miscode can leave things a little unsecured as far as hackers are concerned. These are the types of things that an ethical hacker will aim to identify.
Server faults
Regardless of the type of host server being used and no matter how reliable it usually is, if it lacks security, if it suffers with a temporary failure, or of any other unforeseen events occur, then the potential for a server to leave its gates wide open will be far more substantial. White hat hackers will attempt to gain entry directly via a server, as these aspects are often overlooked in favour of attacking the actual website’s defenses. Unfortunately they can be a gateway for actual hackers looking for a way in.
Bugs and glitches
Not all websites will be subjected to the hacking attempts of unsavoury individuals; especially those with prominent security. That won’t rule out the potential for bugs and glitches to be present however, in fact many websites will have at least some form of issue that the owner won’t know about unless it is identified. Fortunately ethical hackers can help with this too – in fact as long as the compensation stretches to cater to smaller tasks like the sourcing of bugs, a tester might still consider the evaluation worthwhile enough to undertake.