There are many different methods and types of cyber attack which can be faced by website owners when trying to conduct online events and it would be difficult to examine all of them in a single blog post. Website owners may be wary of hiring an IT company in Winnipeg to manage their website’s security concerns. This is why we have compiled a list of some of the most prevalent security threats that website owners can face and some recommendations of how to deal with them. This way you will not need the help of a magician in Toronto to get your site back on track when exposed to these vulnerabilities.

Phishing

Website owners provide authorized clients with usernames and passwords to access resources on their websites. A phishing attack tricks victims into providing their confidential information by masquerading as someone they trust often through phone, text, or email. The attack provides unknown people with user’s personal information like usernames, passwords, social security numbers, account numbers, and more.

Ransomware & Malware

When an electronic device or network gets infected with ransomware or malware, administrators and users might not be able to access valuable online resources. This means that the users and administrators will be temporarily locked out of their online resources due to the presence of ransomware or malware. It is recommended that website owners remember not to install software from unknown or suspicious links that contain software that you do not necessarily need.

SQL Injection

Website owners will require users to input their username and password whenever users will be participating in online events. An SQL injection, sometimes also referred to as an SQLi, exploits the website’s input channels to run a malicious code. Once the code runs successfully the attacker gains access to the valuable information stored on the database server. The user can then tamper or pilfer data to impede the functionality of the website.

 

For example, a user can enter SQL code in the username and password field that will always result in gaining access to the next level. In some cases, code can be used in the same way to gain administrative privileges on the website for all of the users on that website. This will give the attacker the permissions to change user account settings or send messages to all of the users at once from the administrator account. Some of the ways to neutralize SQLi vulnerabilities is to validate input strings on the server or use command parameters.

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks

If your website runs on ActiveX, CSS, Flash, HTML, or JavaScript, it could potentially be vulnerable to a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack. Although JavaScript is one of the favorites for attackers because there are endless possibilities for the ways an attacker can access and steal confidential website information. A cross-site scripting attack affects the users of a website rather than the functionality of the website. This means that your users will possibly encounter malware, take control of user accounts or devices, and manipulate network applications.

 

A cross-site scripting attack is usually considered to be less harmful than SQL injections. A cross-site scripting attack can still plant trojan horses, identity theft, keylogging, and phishing attempts by working in coordination with social engineering websites. There are dedicated plugins associated with making sure that a website does not have cross-site scripting vulnerabilities.