Securing Your Website from Hackers: Stop Common Attacks
The Cost of Cyber-Attacks: Real-World Cases
In 2023, Hotel Booking Management v1.0 suffered a critical SQL injection flaw (CVE-2023-49989) allowing attackers to manipulate databases without authentication 1 . Similarly, Hoteldruid v3.0.5 had a SQLi vulnerability via n_utente_agg (CVE-2023-43373), risking sensitive data 2 8.
The African Cybersecurity Threat Landscape
Africa faces escalating cyber threats, with Tanzania emerging as a regional leader in cyber-security. The country achieved a Tier 1 ranking in the 2024 Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) for robust legal frameworks and cooperation 3 4. However, challenges persist:
- DDoS attacks surged in Tanzania, targeting telecom and transportation sectors 5.
1. Common Web Vulnerabilities
SQL Injection
- Impact: Attackers exploit inputs like
idorn_utente_aggto extract data or execute commands. Example:http://{{IP}}/update.php?id=1 AND (SELECT SLEEP(20))2. - Prevention: Use parameterized queries (e.g.,
cursor.execute("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ?", (user_input,))) .
XSS & CSRF
- XSS: Sanitize inputs with
DOMPurifyand enforce CSP headers 6. - CSRF: Implement tokens (e.g., Django’s
{% csrf_token %}) andSameSitecookies.
2. Best Practices (Verified Tools & Configs)
SSL Certificates
Use Let’s Encrypt for free HTTPS. Example Nginx config:
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload";
server_tokens off; # Hide server version
Web Server Hardening
Secure headers for Nginx:
add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff";
add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN";
add_header Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'";