A web attack is a plan to exploit vulnerabilities in a website, or parts of it. The attacks can involve the web application, content or server of a site. Websites offer many opportunities for attackers to gain unauthorized access, steal private information, or even introduce malicious content.
Attackers frequently look for weaknesses in a website’s content or structure to take over data, control the website or harm users. Common attacks include brute force attacks (XSS) and attacks on uploads of files, and cross-site scripting. Other attacks are carried by social engineering, for instance phishing, and malware attacks that include trojans, ransomware or spyware.
The most common attacks on websites focus on the web application that is composed of the hardware and software a website uses to show information to visitors. Hackers can target an application on the web by exploiting its flaws, including SQL injection cross-site request forgery and reflection-based XSS.
SQL injection attacks attack databases that web applications use to store and provide content. These attacks could expose a variety of sensitive data, including passwords, account logins and credit card numbers.
Cross-site scripting attacks exploit flaws in the code of websites to display untrusted images or text, steal session information, and then redirect users to phishing websites. Reflective XSS allows an attacker to execute an arbitrary program.
A man-in the-middle attack occurs when a third-party intercepts communication between you and a web server. The third party could alter messages, spoof certificate and alter DNS responses and others. This is a way to influence online activities.