What Is Business Logic?
Business logic is the custom rules or algorithms governing how a user interface operates and interacts with a database. It’s the brain behind business applications, determining how data is transformed or calculated, and how the application’s workflows function.
For example, business logic that dictates how an eCommerce website calculates discounts, how a banking system computes interest, or how a CRM system manages customer data.
At its core, business logic is about decision making—it is about the ‘if’ and ‘then’ scenarios that drive a business application. For instance, ‘if’ a customer orders more than ten items, ‘then’ they get a 10% discount. This conditional logic, when programmed into software applications, automates business decisions and makes processes more efficient.
This is part of an extensive series of guides about application security.
Importance and Role of Business Logic in Application Development
Business logic plays a pivotal role in application development. It serves as the backbone for any software application, bridging the gap between raw data and meaningful information. It is responsible for implementing the business rules that dictate how data is created, displayed, stored, and changed. But more than just rules, business logic encapsulates the operations, workflows, and processes that make a business unique.
In application development, business logic is the layer of code that determines how data is processed and presented to the end-user. In many applications, it is considered a best practice to separate business logic from the database (which stores data) and the user interface (which displays data). This separation is important because it allows developers to modify the business rules without affecting the database or the user interface, making it easier to change business logic in line with business needs.
Learn more in our detailed guide to application controls
What Is the Business Logic Layer?
The business logic layer (BLL), also known as the domain logic layer (DLL), is the part of an application where business rules, workflows, and other operational constructs are implemented. It functions as an intermediary between the presentation layer (user interface) and the data access layer (database). This layer encapsulates the core logic of a business that drives the behavior of an application.
For example, in an eCommerce application, the business logic layer might contain code that calculates discounts, manages customer orders, or tracks inventory.
The business logic layer typically includes:
- Models: These are objects representing real-world entities, such as a user, product, or order. These models encapsulate data and behavior related to these entities.
- Services: Services implement processes and operations that often involve multiple models. For instance, a service could manage the process of placing an order, which might involve the customer model, the product model, and the order model.
- Validators: Validators enforce business rules on the data before it is saved to the database. For example, a validator might ensure that a customer’s email address is formatted correctly.
The separation of the business logic layer from the presentation and data access layers is part of a design principle known as separation of concerns. This principle promotes modularity and allows different parts of an application to be developed, tested, and updated independently. This design can significantly improve application performance, maintainability, and scalability, providing a more robust and flexible system.
3 Fundamental Requirements for Business Logic
While business logic varies from business to business, there are three fundamental requirements for business logic in almost any application: data consistency, participant control, and modification checks.
Data Consistency
Data consistency is a critical aspect of business logic. It ensures that data across the business is accurate, reliable, and uniform. For example, if a product’s price changes, it’s crucial that the new price is reflected consistently across all platforms, be it the company’s website, mobile app, or physical store.
Data consistency not only improves the accuracy of business operations but also enhances customer experience. Customers expect to see the same product information, prices, and offers, regardless of the platform they use. Any inconsistency can lead to confusion and mistrust, damaging the company’s reputation.
Furthermore, data consistency aids in decision-making by providing accurate and up-to-date information. This allows businesses to make informed decisions, leading to better business outcomes.
Participant Control
Participant control refers to control over who can access and manipulate data. In any business, data is a valuable asset, and it is essential to control who has access to this data to prevent unauthorized access.
Participant control is implemented using user roles and permissions, which define what actions a user can perform on a particular data set. For example, in a banking system, a teller may have access to customer account information but may not have the permission to approve loans. This segregation of duties ensures data integrity and security.
In addition, participant control helps in audit trails by tracking who made what changes to the data. This ensures accountability and transparency in business operations.
Modification Checks
The last key component of business logic is the modification check. It’s a mechanism to ensure that any changes to data are valid, reasonable, and align with the business rules. For example, a Modification Check could prevent a user from entering a negative value for a product’s stock or an end date earlier than the start date for a project.
Modification Checks play a significant role in maintaining data integrity. They prevent invalid data from entering the system, which could otherwise lead to inaccurate reports and faulty business decisions.
Moreover, Modification Checks help enforce business rules. By ensuring that data modifications comply with the established business rules, they help uphold the business logic and ensure that the business operates as intended.
In conclusion, business logic is the bedrock of your business operations, dictating how your business functions and evolves. Whether you’re developing a software application, streamlining business processes, or making strategic decisions, a solid understanding of business logic is indispensable. So, let’s embrace this powerful concept and harness its potential to drive our businesses forward.
Learn more in our detailed guide to data protection
What Are Business Logic Vulnerabilities?
Business logic vulnerabilities arise when an attacker manipulates the business rules or processes to their advantage, leading to potential losses or damages. The most significant characteristic of business logic Vulnerabilities is that they cannot be detected by traditional firewalls or security scanners. This is because unlike common vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection or Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), business logic vulnerabilities do not exploit technical flaws. Instead, they exploit the legitimate functionality of the application or system.
Take, for example, a bank’s online system that allows users to transfer funds between their accounts. If an attacker manipulates the system to transfer funds from another user’s account to their own, using flawed business logic coded into the system, this would constitute a business logic attack. The system is not technically flawed, but the attacker has exploited the business process for illicit gain.
Prevention and Mitigation of Business Logic Attacks
The stealthy nature of business logic attacks makes them exceedingly difficult to prevent and mitigate. Nevertheless, with strategic design, vigilant coding, and regular auditing, businesses can significantly reduce their susceptibility to these attacks.
Designing Systems to Reduce the Risk of Business Logic Attacks
The first line of defense against business logic attacks is a well-designed system. By incorporating security considerations at the design stage, businesses can preempt potential vulnerabilities and mitigate their impact.
One effective strategy is the principle of least privilege (POLP). This principle advocates that a user should be given the minimum levels of access – or privileges – required to perform their tasks. By limiting the user’s privileges, the potential for damage in the event of an attack is significantly reduced.
Additionally, businesses should also adopt a defense in depth strategy. Under this strategy, multiple layers of security controls are placed throughout the IT system. So, even if an attacker breaches one layer, they would still have to circumnavigate the other layers.
Reviewing Code and Implementation to Minimize Vulnerabilities
While a robust design forms the backbone of a secure system, it must be complemented with secure coding and implementation techniques. These techniques primarily revolve around the concept of secure coding practices, which, for example, discourage the use of insecure APIs and encourage input validation.
Input validation is particularly crucial in preventing business logic attacks. By validating the user’s input, systems can ensure that only legitimate requests are processed, thus preventing attackers from manipulating business processes.
Moreover, businesses should also employ code review techniques. By regularly reviewing the code, developers can identify potential vulnerabilities and rectify them before they can be exploited.
Regular Auditing and Monitoring
Despite the best efforts, some vulnerabilities may still bypass the design and coding defenses. This is where regular auditing and monitoring come into play. By continuously monitoring their systems, businesses can detect anomalous activities that may signify a business logic Attack.
Moreover, regular audits can also help identify any changes in the business environment that may necessitate modifications in the business logic. For instance, the introduction of new regulations may require businesses to alter their transactional processes, thus changing their business logic.
Imperva Application Security
Imperva provides Advanced Bot Protection that prevents business logic attacks from all access points – websites, mobile apps and APIs. Gain seamless visibility and control over bot traffic to stop online fraud through account takeover or competitive price scraping.
Beyond bot protection, Imperva provides comprehensive protection for applications, APIs, and microservices:
Web Application Firewall – Prevent attacks with world-class analysis of web traffic to your applications.
Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) – Real-time attack detection and prevention from your application runtime environment goes wherever your applications go. Stop external attacks and injections and reduce your vulnerability backlog.
API Security – Automated API protection ensures your API endpoints are protected as they are published, shielding your applications from exploitation.
DDoS Protection – Block attack traffic at the edge to ensure business continuity with guaranteed uptime and no performance impact. Secure your on premises or cloud-based assets – whether you’re hosted in AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Public Cloud.
Attack Analytics – Ensures complete visibility with machine learning and domain expertise across the application security stack to reveal patterns in the noise and detect application attacks, enabling you to isolate and prevent attack campaigns.
Client-Side Protection – Gain visibility and control over third-party JavaScript code to reduce the risk of supply chain fraud, prevent data breaches, and client-side attacks.
