Digital modernization and automation have been on a rapid trajectory for the last 5 years and were thrust forward at an even faster pace when the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown period took hold in 2020. For businesses and consumers alike this acceleration of advanced technology development has brought a welcome improvement to online services and access to information but it has also introduced a new type of security challenges that isn’t as easy to detect and block as the type of attacks we have been used to.
Business Logic: The Heart of Applications
Business logic is the backbone of any application, dictating how it operates and interacts with users and other systems. As applications become more complex, so do the attacks targeting them as cybercriminals evolve their tactics, moving beyond simple attacks to more sophisticated business logic abuse. In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of business logic, the challenges in detecting and preventing business logic abuse, and how a comprehensive security platform like Imperva can protect your applications from these threats.
What is Business Logic in Programming and Why is it Important?
Business logic defines the rules and processes that govern how an application functions and interacts with users and other systems. It’s the core of any application, responsible for carrying out tasks, processing data, and making decisions based on user input. As such, it’s a prime target for cybercriminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities and gain unauthorized access to critical data.
Business logic refers to the commands or rules that allow a database to exchange information between the database and the end user application.
Business Logic Abuse: A Growing Threat
Business logic abuse involves the manipulation of an application’s intended functionality and processes, rather than exploiting technical vulnerabilities. By mimicking legitimate traffic behavior, attackers can misuse legitimate features, bypass traditional security measures, and manipulate workflows to gain unauthorized access or cause harm without triggering security alerts. Some common examples of business logic abuse include:
- Function misuse: Exploiting legitimate functions within an application to perform unauthorized actions, such as escalating privileges or accessing sensitive data.
- Bypass Security Controls: Altering the flow of an application to bypass security controls or perform actions that would otherwise be restricted.
- Cross-user data leakage: Exploiting the input to APIs in a session to access sensitive data of other users.
Business Logic Flaws: Difficult to Detect
One of the primary challenges in dealing with business logic abuse is that it’s difficult to detect. Traditional security measures, such as Web Application Firewalls (WAFs), are designed to protect against known vulnerabilities and attack patterns. However, they often struggle to identify and block more sophisticated business logic attacks as these threats do not conform to typical attack patterns and, in most cases, span multiple API calls across one or more sessions. This makes it challenging for security teams to identify and respond to business logic abuse in real-time.
The Consequences of Business Logic Abuse
The consequences of business logic abuse can be severe, impacting an organization’s reputation, customer trust, and bottom line. Attackers can gain unauthorized access to critical data, manipulate application functionality, and cause significant disruptions to operations. In some cases, the damage caused by a successful business logic attack can be difficult to reverse, making it crucial for organizations to implement proactive measures to prevent these threats.
A Multi-Layered Approach to Protecting Against Business Logic Abuse
To effectively protect against business logic abuse, organizations need a comprehensive security platform that goes beyond traditional WAFs. A multi-layered approach to application security that includes WAF, Bot Protection, and API Security is the optimal security stance.
Imperva Cloud WAF protects against OWASP Top 10 security threats like cross-site scripting, illegal resource access, and remote file inclusion, blocking attacks in real time.
Imperva Advanced Bot Protection protects websites, mobile apps, and APIs from today’s most sophisticated bot attacks without affecting legitimate users and provides full visibility and control over human, good bot, and bad bot traffic.
Imperva API Security provides continuous protection of APIs using deep discovery and risk classification of sensitive data to offer visibility into the entire API inventory while protecting against the OWASP API Top 10 threats.
All three solutions come as part of Imperva’s comprehensive single-stack application security platform to provide true defense-in-depth security and the best protection for your applications and APIs against business logic abuse.
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