What is web security?

For enterprises, web security is critical to preventing costly cyberattacks—such as malware, phishing, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and more—that can disrupt core business practices and cause catastrophic reputational damage.

The number of ways cybercriminals can gain unauthorized access to an organization’s data and resources—vulnerabilities known as “attack surfaces”—has increased exponentially. When applied effectively, web security safeguards the web applications businesses depend on from a wide range of malicious activities. These activities range from simple malware and phishing attempts that result in data theft to complex cyberattacks that target millions of users and can shut down business operations for days.

Web security solutions typically include a combination of technologies, including firewalls, antivirus software and application programming interface (API) security tools. They also employ more advanced approaches that use newer technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to protect against a wider range of malicious activities.

With cyberattacks increasing in number and complexity every year, the demand for web security solutions is increasing rapidly. According to a recent report, the global market is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 13% and will reach USD 500 billion by 2030.¹

The application security market alone, focusing on web-based software applications security solutions, is growing at a CAGR of a little over 14% and will likely reach USD 25 billion by 2030.²

An important subset of web security is cloud-based web security, also known as cloud security, a set of technologies and best practices that protect resources that depend on cloud infrastructure to function.

As with all other cloud technologies, cloud security relies on physical and virtual resources delivered over the internet. Cloud security solutions rely on a global network of servers to deliver specialized tools and capabilities, including web filtering, enhanced email security, data loss prevention (DLP) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS).

The shift toward cloud-based web security represents a significant evolution in how organizations approach cybersecurity. This approach offers a more dynamic and adaptable set of solutions designed to keep pace with the rapidly changing threat landscape modern enterprises face.

Despite being highly customizable and adaptable to the individual needs of an organization, web security solutions still rely on four basic principles to prevent cyberattacks:

• Authentication
• Encryption
• Network security
• Incident response

Here’s a closer look at each one and how they can be implemented effectively.

Authentication, also known as access control, is one of the most fundamental building blocks of web security. Essentially, it governs who and what can access data, systems and applications by verifying a user’s identity through several steps, including multifactor authentication (MFA), role-based access control (RBAC) and more. When implemented effectively, authentication controls which users and applications have access to sensitive information in a network or system.

Encryption, the process of scrambling text into unreadable form, requiring a decryption key before it can be read, is another method for protecting sensitive data. Through encryption, information can be shared across a network or system securely, only readable to third parties with access to the decryption key. Along with authentication, encryption is one of the most important tools users and organizations have for preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information.  

Network security is a type of security that focuses on protecting computer networks and systems from various internal and external security threats. Like authentication and encryption, network security relies on practices and tools like firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS) and virtual private networks (VPNs) to identify and resolve a network vulnerability before it can result in unauthorized access.

Despite rigorously following best practices and deploying an arsenal of modern cybersecurity tools, organizations still suffer frequent intrusions from hackers. Effective incident response capabilities like real-time threat detection, event management and log analysis ensure that whatever type of cyberthreat a network or organization faces, they can recover and restore business operations quickly.

Cyberattacks cost organizations millions in lost revenue every year. The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report put the global average cost of a security breach at USD 4.44 million. Attack vectors and malicious users are constantly developing new ways to exploit security vulnerabilities in web apps, APIs and other resources organizations rely upon.

One of the best available resources for web security is The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), a nonprofit that publishes a “Top 10” list of cyberthreats. Here’s a look at some of the most persistent threats that frequently make their list.

Advanced web security solutions are designed to protect organizations from a wide range of cyberattacks, from straightforward phishing schemes compromising credit cards to advanced DDoS attacks bringing entire organizations to a standstill. Here are some of the top benefits of investing in enterprise-level web security solutions:

• Comprehensive protection: Effective web security solutions typically protect against a wide range of threats. By employing a diverse set of tools and strategies to keep organizations safe, web security solutions establish a barrier against many advanced persistent threats (APTs) where malicious actors gain access to a system or database for hours, days or even years and go undetected. 
  
  
• Reduced cost: While implementing web security solutions requires investment, the cost of downtime, disruption, data breaches and reputation damage caused by a successful cyberattack is notably greater.
  
  
• Proactive detection: Today’s advanced web security tools can often spot attacks before they infiltrate a network and isolate them so they can’t spread. Proactive detection and isolation, also known as containment, helps minimize damage from cyberattacks and reduce the costs of recovery.
  
  
• Enhanced authentication: Most modern web security solutions rely on advanced authentication tools (for example, multifactor authentication (MFA)) to reduce the risk of bad actors accessing sensitive information.
  
  
• Secure remote work: As more workforces adopt hybrid and remote policies, it’s critical for organizations to ensure employees can safely share resources and data over the internet. VPNs, encryption, authentication and other modern website security tools ensure that remote workers enjoy the same levels of security as their on-premises counterparts.
  
  
• Automated compliance: Most modern web security solutions have a compliance management system (CMS) that can be set up to automatically comply with the regulations of relevant countries and territories. For example, an organization can set up API security features to follow specific rules for data exchange, even as those rules change from territory to territory.
  
  
• Business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR): Comprehensive web security approaches almost always involve processes and tools designed to help businesses recover after an outage or cyberattack, a process known as business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR). BCDR applies to all aspects of IT infrastructure, including those most critical to core business processes like networks, data centers and cloud resources.

As modern businesses increasingly rely on digital technologies for their core operations, they also face greater exposure to cyberattacks and data theft. Today’s web security solutions must address vulnerabilities in a wide range of IT infrastructure components, both physical and virtual. Here’s a look at the top enterprise web security use cases:

Web applications like Salesforce, SAP and Oracle Netsuite have become critical to the day-to-day operations of many successful businesses. Hackers seeking to cause downtime or steal sensitive data frequently target their vulnerabilities with sophisticated methods like SQL injection and XSS. Web security tools like web application firewalls (WAFs) play a crucial role in thwarting these attacks and keeping applications running.  

Along with downtime, the loss of sensitive data is one of the most damaging effects of a successful cyberattack. Strong web security postures, equipped with sophisticated data loss prevention tools, can successfully prevent the unauthorized sharing of sensitive data through email and cloud services, ensuring that companies maintain their customers’ trust.

Cloud infrastructure, the hardware and software components that enable cloud computing, has become increasingly important as companies seek to leverage the flexibility and scalability of the cloud. Cloud security solutions protect cloud infrastructure components with strong access controls, encryption and threat detection and response capabilities that respond to intrusions in near real-time.

DDoS attacks are some of the most sophisticated and dangerous cyberattacks in the world. When executed successfully, they have disrupted the core business practices of some of the largest and most successful companies, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Netflix and X (formerly Twitter).

Modern enterprise-level web security solutions are equipped with cutting-edge tools for stopping DDoS attacks. These solutions include traffic filtering, rate limiting and the diversion of fraudulent web traffic to “scrubbing centers,” where harmful elements can be removed.