Web Project Security: What Threats Do Companies Underestimate

Imagine this: you open your laptop in the morning, and your website's homepage displays a message from hackers. Or worse — your customer database is already being sold on the darknet. Unfortunately, this is the reality for thousands of companies every year. And it’s not because they didn’t have money for protection. They simply didn’t know where to start.

Why security is not a "sometime later" task

Many business owners think: "We’re a small company, why would hackers care about us?" But here’s the catch — 90% of attacks are automated. Bots scan the internet 24/7 looking for vulnerable sites. They don’t care who you are. They are looking for easy targets.

What companies lose during a hack:

• Money: system recovery, fines for data breaches
• Reputation: customers don’t trust companies that didn’t protect their data
• Time: on average, it takes 287 days to detect and fix the consequences of a breach
• Business: 60% of small businesses close within 6 months after a major cyberattack

Top 5 threats most companies underestimate

1. SQL Injections — hacking through contact forms

Sounds complicated? It’s actually simple. Imagine a search form on your website. Instead of a normal query, a hacker enters special code, and your database obediently gives them all passwords and customer personal data.

• Why it’s dangerous: access to the entire database in 5 minutes
• How common: in 20% of web applications

2. XSS attacks (Cross-Site Scripting) — stealing through comments

An attacker leaves a “comment” on your site, but instead of text, it contains a malicious script. When other users open the page, the code steals their data or redirects them to a phishing site.

• Why it’s dangerous: theft of cookies, sessions, card data
• Real case: the British Airways XSS attack resulted in the theft of 380,000 customer records

3. Outdated components — a ticking time bomb

WordPress, plugins, libraries — they are updated regularly for a reason. Old versions have security holes that hackers exploit immediately.

• Why it’s dangerous: vulnerabilities are already known and easy to exploit
• Statistics: 84% of attacks use known vulnerabilities for which patches already exist

4. Weak authentication — password "admin/admin"

Surprisingly, this is still issue #1 today. Weak passwords, no two-factor authentication, unlimited password attempts.

• Why it’s dangerous: full access to the admin panel
• Fact: 81% of breaches occur due to stolen or weak passwords

5. Lack of encryption (HTTP instead of HTTPS)

If your site runs on HTTP, all data is sent in plain text. Anyone on your Wi-Fi network can intercept customer passwords.

• Why it’s dangerous: interception of all data, including passwords
• Bonus: Google lowers the ranking of such sites in search results

OWASP Top 10: your security checklist

OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) is an international organization that publishes a list of the 10 most critical web application vulnerabilities each year. This is not theory — these are real threats, based on analysis of thousands of hacks.

Why start with OWASP Top 10?

• Covers 90% of real attacks — fixing these vulnerabilities blocks most threats
• Concrete checklist — no need to reinvent the wheel
• Recognized standard — required by insurance companies and large clients
• Quick audit — a basic check takes 1-3 days

What the check includes:

• Injections (SQL, NoSQL, commands)
• Authentication issues
• Confidential data leaks
• XML attacks
• Access control problems
• Unsafe settings
• XSS vulnerabilities
• Unsafe deserialization
• Use of components with known vulnerabilities
• Insufficient logging and monitoring

Solutions for different budgets

Minimal budget

• Automatic OWASP Top 10 scanning
• Install a basic WAF
• Set up SSL certificate
• Consultation to fix critical vulnerabilities

Result: 70% of the most dangerous holes closed

Medium budget

• Full pentest with manual check
• Audit of key module code
• Fix discovered vulnerabilities
• Set up monitoring system
• Train the team in security basics

Result: protection against 90% of attacks + understanding how to maintain security

Comprehensive approach

• Regular checks (every 3 months)
• 24/7 continuous monitoring
• Incident response
• Cyber risk insurance
• Compliance with standards (ISO 27001, PCI DSS)

Result: bank-level security

Why security must be continuously monitored

Security is not a one-time action but a continuous process. Here’s why:

1. New vulnerabilities appear every day — in 2024 alone, over 28,000 new vulnerabilities were discovered
2. Hackers improve their methods — what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow
3. The website constantly changes — new features = new potential holes
4. Regulations are tightening — data protection laws are becoming stricter

Main point: start right now

You don’t need a huge budget to make your site safer. Start small:

Today (5 minutes):

• Change the admin password
• Enable automatic CMS updates

This week (2 hours):

• Install an SSL certificate
• Set up a basic WAF
• Make a backup

This month (1 specialist workday):

• Order an OWASP Top 10 security check
• Fix critical vulnerabilities

Each of these steps significantly reduces the risk of hacking. Remember: hackers look for easy targets. Don’t be one.