Javascript Security Best Practices

JavaScript is an ocean with several streams replenishing the software development needs. It was the first programing language standardized by ECMA. It is known to offer cross-browser compatibility.

Most importantly, major web development frameworks are built on top of JavaScript. With widespread usage in browser-based apps, it is essential to make sure that JavaScript codes are secure.

One of the most significant threats to JavaScript codes is cross-site scripting (XSS).

JavaScript interacts with Document Object Model (DOM) and allows scripts to be embedded in client systems across the web. Therefore, untrusted scripts run on the user's browser, which can cause security issues. Similarly, you need to take care of several other vulnerabilities of JavaScript.

We will discuss some of the JavaScript security best practices that you can follow to avoid such attacks.

JavaScript security best practices

    Table Of Contents

  1. Best Practices to Secure JavaScript Apps
    1. Ensure secure input validations
    2. Keep libraries and frameworks up-to-date
    3. Encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transition
    4. Use a Content Security Policy (CSP)
    5. Add an extra layer of security
    6. Test your applications religiously
  2. Conclusion

Best Practices to Secure JavaScript Apps

JavaScript applications are prone to several attacks like cross-site scripting, code injections, man-in-the-middle attacks, and more. The best way to ensure JavaScript security is to understand how users interact with the application and what response it should generate.

If the response differs from what is expected, there is a problem. However, every cyberattack or JavaScript vulnerability has a solution in the form of best practices you can follow.

1. Ensure secure input validations

Every app requires users to input their credentials and specific information to access data or services. If the input validation process is prone to malicious injections, it can cause data theft or cyberattacks.

The best way to ensure secure input validations is to reduce dynamic queries with string concatenation. In other words, dynamically built transact-SQL statements or batches that you can reuse should not have concated strings. To identify such strings, you can apply a rule-based system.

Further, you can change the harmful HTML inputs and have plain text input from users by replacing innerHTML with innerText.

2. Keep libraries and frameworks up-to-date

Another critical JavaScript security best practice you can follow is keeping all the libraries and frameworks up to date. Repeatedly, JavaScript releases security patches and updates for its libraries.

Without proper updates, libraries and frameworks that are the basis of your apps can cause security issues.

3. Encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transition

A JavaScript security best practice is to secure sensitive data at rest. You can encrypt data using a robust encryption algorithm. One way to use encryption is to install SSL certificate for your JavaScript application. SSL certificates secure communication between the user's device and the browser through cryptographic encryption.

You can get an SSL certificate from several certificate authorities (CA) that ensure higher trustworthiness among users. The process of SSL certificate involves the generation of a Certificate Signing request (CSR) along with all the details of the requestor.

Once you submit the CSR, CA conducts the validation process. After thorough validation, CA issues the certificate, and you can install it on the JavaScript application. Fortunately, many leading CAs like Comodo and others offer many low cost or cheapest SSL certificates. You need to compare them based on your specific requirements and their features.

4. Use a Content Security Policy (CSP)

Another JavaScript security best practice is to use a Content Security Policy (CSP). It is a security standard that allows you to define the sources from which the browser can load the content. It is a way to mitigate the risk of cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

It is a set of rules that you can define in the HTTP header of the web page. It allows you to define the sources from which the browser can load the content. It is a way to mitigate the risk of cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

5. Add an extra layer of security

If you are keeping the data on physical hardware or on premise infrastructure, ensure protection through another layer of security. For example, you can ensure that data access from on premise data center is secure through two-factor authentication (2FA).

It is a process of authenticating users for data access through their email ID, password, and a passcode sent on their device. However, there can be different forms of a passcode, and it can be a one-time password, a link to log in, or an encoded message.

6. Test your applications religiously

Application testing is critical to ensuring that your code is secure against cyberattacks. You should test apps according to the changing definitions of cyber threats and attacks. Ensure enhanced vulnerability scanning and penetration testing for better JavaScript security.

However, testing activity can get overwhelming at scale, and that is why one of the JavaScript best practices is to leverage automation. It allows you to reduce manual testing tasks and focus on application development.

Conclusion

Every year, how attackers execute cyber-attacks is evolving. Therefore, you must ensure that your JavaScript applications are ready to cope with attacks and secure data. Here we have discussed some of the best JavaScript security best practices. However, which one to use for your applications depends on specific business requirements.

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