Securing applications: 4 common cyber attack types WAAP can prevent

Cyber threats are rapidly changing. And businesses need security solutions that can keep up. With traditional cybersecurity solutions, APIs and applications that are accessible to the public are often left vulnerable -- exposed to hackers.

Web Application and API Protection (or WAAP), on the other hand, uses machine learning and automation to close the gap in security that old tools have left behind. It protects the company from versatile cyber attacks that exploit flaws within applications. What are some of the common kinds of cyber threats that the WAAP solution can help you prevent?

#1 Distributed Denial-of-Service

Websites or applications that suffer a Distributed Denials-of-Service (DDoS) attack tend to slow down or, even worse, ultimately crash. A massive surge of traffic floods the app and makes it unusable.

This is the work of botnets -- groups of malware-infected devices that create fake traffic and overwhelm the target.

Botnets can be formed using IoT devices with lax security or personal devices such as PCs and laptops. In most cases, users aren’t aware that the technology they have at home can or is already used for attacks.

Hackers can use DDoS attacks to target the cloud environments of businesses as well.

DDoS attacks are common because it’s cheap to order such attacks to target competitors and simple to purchase off the dark web.

How Does WAAP Prevent DDoS Attacks?

WAAP blocks large surges of traffic that appear at the edge of a system.

As any cybersecurity professional knows, a couple of minutes of a DDoS attack can set the company back financially for the hours, or days, it takes to remedy the issue.

By blocking the traffic right away, WAAP prevents long intermissions that an attack would cause for the organization.

#2 Account Takeover Attack (ATO)

Account Takeover Attacks (ATO) is a type of cyber incident in which a bad actor gains illicit access to a user’s account.

In most cases, they use stolen passwords and credentials that they’ve obtained from data dumps or sellers on the dark bed and hacking forums.

Once they purchase the credentials or steal them via phishing, threat actors use bots to automatically log into versatile websites and test whether the passwords and usernames are correct.

How Can WAAP Protect Users From ATOs?

WAAP authenticates APIs to identify the signs of unauthorized access to users’ accounts.

It confirms that the user trying to access the application is genuine.

Using advanced bot protection, it triple-checks for signs of automated attacks such as Account Takeover Attacks.

#3 SQL Injection Attacks

According to OWASP, injections are among the top three threats to applications. One of the common types is known as SQL injection.

During the SQL attack, cyber criminals try to insert malicious code into the database of an application.

In the case of a successful SQL attack, bad actors can gain access to the database of a business. Once they’re in, they can change the data they find, steal sensitive information, obtain user credentials, or even use it to run specific commands on the victims’ OS.

Businesses that rely on SQL databases are vulnerable to this attack.

How Does WAAP Guard Apps From SQL Injection Attacks?

Cloud-based WAAPs combine the functionality of WAF, API, and DDoS protection. As a result, it can defend the applications against common attacks such as SQL injection.

The Web Application Firewall (WAF) component runs around the clock to detect if any signs of exploitation are listed in the OWASP’s Top 10 most common vulnerabilities for applications -- such as injections.

To identify SQL, WAF closely monitors what kind of data is entering the environment and analyzes whether the incoming packets contain malicious SQL syntax.

#4 Zero Day Threats

Zero days refer to weaknesses that a company’s developer hasn’t yet discovered and fixed -- essentially they have "zero days" to patch up the vulnerability.

Until they find them, cybercriminals can exploit them to gain access to the network or tamper with data stored within databases. That is, they can uncover zero-day flaws and use them to perform zero-day attacks.

Such threats are a challenge to discover and mitigate. They can bypass security tools that are equipped to identify and mitigate only known and documented threats.

Depending on where the zero-day vulnerability resides within the infrastructure and what it is, it can result in minor or severe damage.

Google has a cybersecurity division that specializes in one task only -- finding Zero Day Threats. In their annual report for 2022, they stated that they uncovered a high number of 41 zero-day weaknesses.

Google is one thing, but companies with limited IT budgets have to rely on automated tools that can detect the signs of such attacks.

How Does WAAP Identify Zero-Day Vulnerabilities?

WAAP traces anomalies to detect if there is a sign of a different and new cyber threat. It compares the normal behavior within the company’s cloud or application to alert security teams of any indications of hacking.

With the use of machine learning, this solution constantly learns about the company’s environment to identify attacks on applications.

Even if bad actors detect or create zero-day vulnerabilities they can use to target the company, they won’t exploit them right away. Many of them wait for the right time to strike because finding zero-day weaknesses is difficult and takes a lot of time.

For security teams, this means they have some time to pick up on them as well as create and apply the necessary patches.

Defending Apps With WAAP

Using WAAP, businesses can prevent both standard and dynamic, new threats that target applications.

The four common threats include Distributed Denial of Service, Account Takeover Attacks, SQL Injections, and Zero Day Attacks.

This tool is equipped to block specific threats, but also continually learns about the environment to detect the signs of yet unknown vulnerabilities that could harm a company.

Image credit: mikkolem/depositphotos.com

Peter Davidson works as a senior business associate helping brands and start ups to make efficient business decisions and plan proper business strategies. He is a big gadget freak who loves to share his views on latest technologies and applications.