The transition to online services is inevitable in today’s world. However, this development poses major risks for the security of information systems, particularly with the increase in attacks against government web applications. It is in this context that a web application security guide was published by the General Directorate of Information Systems Security (DGSSI) under the National Defense Administration.
With the growing development of the Internet, public administrations are striving to offer online services to meet the needs of citizens and businesses. However, this digital transition is accompanied by major risks for the security of information systems, particularly with the increase in attacks directed against government web applications. Reports from IT security observatories demonstrate an alarming increase in online attacks, leading to serious consequences such as damage to the image of the administration and the theft of sensitive data.
Faced with this growing threat, it becomes imperative to adopt secure development practices to protect government web applications. With this in mind, the General Directorate of Information Systems Security (DGSSI), under the National Defense Administration, has published a security guide dedicated to web applications. This aims to provide recommendations and best practices to strengthen the security of information systems and prevent online attacks. It is divided into four essential parts, covering the entire life cycle of web applications, from design to maintenance. The first part of the guide highlights the fundamental importance of the Special Requirements Specification (CPS) in the web application development process.
The CPS helps to clearly define security needs and objectives from the earliest phases of the project, identifying potential risks and establishing specific security requirements for each stage of development. Next, it discusses in detail best practices for preventing the most common security vulnerabilities in web application development. This includes specific recommendations for strong authentication, secure session management, and protection against brute force attacks.
The third part of the guide focuses on best practices to adopt when deploying and maintaining applications, as well as managing security incidents. This includes the implementation of rigorous testing and evaluation procedures, as well as awareness and ongoing training of development and maintenance teams on security issues.
Saving data
Backup management constitutes a critical aspect of information systems security, particularly in the context of web applications. Data backup and recovery procedures must be rigorously formalized. It is essential to regularly save the configurations of the different components of the web platform and store them in a safe, placed in a room separate from the servers to prevent damage in the event of fire. These backups must be periodically updated and verified to ensure their integrity and optimal functioning.
Along with data backup, performance monitoring is crucial to ensure the proper functioning and efficiency of web applications. Continuously testing and adjusting performance is an essential process. It is necessary to regularly evaluate the current performance level of the web application, by carrying out analyzes over a sufficiently long period to obtain a global and precise view of its activity. Platform components should be examined to identify and correct potential bottlenecks.
Changes should be made sequentially, followed by an evaluation to measure their impact and detect possible unwanted side effects. Vulnerability assessment is also a fundamental step in ensuring the security of web applications. Continuous security verification makes it possible to maintain an adequate level of security and detect residual vulnerabilities in the information system. Vulnerability scanning tools, such as Nessus, Nikto, Wapiti, ZAP, can be used to identify potential vulnerabilities and implement appropriate corrective measures. This proactive approach helps strengthen the resilience of web platforms in the face of emerging threats and cyber attacks.
React effectively
Incident detection is a crucial step in web application security management, aiming to quickly identify any anomalies or suspicious activities that could compromise data integrity or availability. To ensure effective detection, it is recommended to implement proactive monitoring measures for the integrity of the web application directories and its configuration. Any unauthorized changes, such as the sudden appearance of new files or modification of the server configuration, should trigger an alert to allow immediate investigation.
It is also essential to keep the technical points of contact associated with the site up to date, including WHOIS database information, to ensure that you can quickly contact the site manager in the event of a problem.
In the event of a proven security incident, it is imperative to take immediate measures to restore normal operation of the web application. This involves collecting and preserving all relevant information to conduct in-depth investigations, as well as returning the site to service after eliminating any malicious elements or vulnerabilities exploited by the attacker.
The action to be taken in the event of an incident must be rigorously defined and followed by the system manager. This includes reporting the incident to the competent authorities, such as maCERT, collecting logs from the different components of the web platform for in-depth analysis, and implementing appropriate corrective measures after determining the nature of the incident. attack and identified its source.
The collection and analysis of logs, particularly those from the Apache web server, are essential to understand the progress of the attack and identify the flaws exploited by the attacker. By enabling logging of data sent in POST requests, through modules such as “mod-dumpost”, it is possible to improve the visibility and traceability of malicious activities on the web server.
Kenza Aziouzi / ECO Inspirations
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