What is SQL injection?

With SQL injection attacks on the rise, many who aren’t experts on cybercrime are often hard-pressed to answer questions like “What is SQL injection and how do I prevent it?”

Here is a short introduction to “What is SQL injection?” as well as the common approaches to mitigating attacks.

What is SQL injection?

SQL injection is a technique used to gain unauthorized access to data-driven applications. SQL injection involves entering SQL statements into an entry field in an application – for example, into the fields in a contact form on the website –  to make the application execute certain commands.

What is SQL injection attack?

In an SQL injection attack, a hacker will input SQL statements to access sensitive data from the database, modify data, shut down the database or issue unauthorized commands.

What is SQL injection’s greatest threat to application security?

Through SQL injection, an attacker could end up acting as the system administrator of the database server. With these permissions, attackers can gain access to customer credit card numbers, steal intellectual property or destroy valuable data.

What is an SQL injection defense?

The best way to defend against an SQL injection is to avoid introducing SQL vulnerabilities into applications or to find and fix flaws in applications already in development or production. This can be accomplished by testing for SQL injection vulnerabilities.

What is SQL injection security testing?

An SQL injection security test involves scanning code to identify flaws that may allow an SQL injection attack.

What is an SQL injection security test provider?

An application security testing provider will offer a variety of software testing techniques that help to prevent SQL injection as well as other application security issues.

Veracode is a leader in application security testing solutions, providing a subscription-based service that enables developers to embed testing throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Combining process, speed and automation, Veracode offers a unified platform with solutions that allow developers to find and fix vulnerabilities at the lowest-cost point in the development/deployment chain.

Veracode solutions for preventing SQL injection and other vulnerabilities including a static analysis code review tool, dynamic analysis security testing and manual penetration testers that can help to find flaws that automated scans won’t discover. Developers can use Veracode technology to remediate vulnerabilities during the development process, and to perform a web application security audit to fix flaws in applications already in production.

Learn more about “What is SQL injection?” and how to defend against it with Veracode and about Veracode solutions for secure DevOps and mobile application security testing.