Understanding Web Security Vulnerability: Session Fixation

There is no doubt that the world of internet has provided us with unlimited options that can make our lives easier and simpler. Today, you can do almost anything with the help of internet, but every coin has two sides and hence many people make use of internet for their own selfish motives. Hackers and spammers all over the world are known for spreading viruses and accessing private information which can lead to loss of millions of investments that are made by the people and online companies. The idea of session fixation is not new to the world. However, hackers are now implementing better tactics to make sure that people fall prey to it.

As a website owner one should always make sure that the website security has never been compromised and for that you need to spend some extra bucks to get the best web security software and tools. If you own an ecommerce website that are more chances of hackers targeting your online customers as they can access their credit card information and other personal details with the help of session fixation. Hence, the best way you can handle it is to understand the loop holes that you need to fill in to avoid such issues.

Some of the simple methods through which hackers can get into the website are through server generated session identifiers. Hackers fixated session identifiers and then send it to the people who are regular customers on your website. They will see the same screen like they see when they are on your website. However, the moment they login the hackers get all the information that they want to have complete control of the account and then they can do more harm to your customers. On the other hand, your online customers will feel that it was your website that leaked the information.

Hackers can also use various other methods like using cross site cooking and cross sub domain cooking. However, these issues can be resolved if you have identity confirmation option on your website. This will change the session ID when users log in on your website and therefore the attackers really don't have the session ID to make use of session fixation process. You can also resolve problems like phishing on your website if you know how to incorporate the best security features on your website to protect your customers and your online business.


Posted by Michael on 2010-08-18 in the category " Security "