Every website is a potential target
Whether you run a webshop, campaign site or SaaS platform, your site will be scanned for vulnerabilities at some point. Often automatically. Sometimes deliberately. But always with risk.
Cyberattacks aren’t limited to large enterprises. This blog outlines the most common attack types, how they work and how to prevent them.
Why this matters
Cybersecurity is not a trend. It’s a daily reality. Open source libraries, plug-ins, forms or error messages. Every component can be an entry point.
Even relatively small or temporary sites get scanned constantly. Not by people, but by bots crawling millions of pages a day. If you’re exposed, you will be found.
The five most common attack types
1. SQL Injection
Attackers insert malicious code into input fields to manipulate backend databases. Think logins, search bars or forms.
Impact: data theft, account takeovers, full table deletions.
Prevention: always use parameterized queries. Never accept raw input into your database without validation or escaping.
2. Cross-site scripting (XSS)
An attacker injects scripts into your site that execute in the browser of other users. Common entry points include comment sections or search results.
Impact: session hijacking, manipulated content, phishing.
Prevention: filter input and encode output. Use Content-Security-Policy headers to limit exposure.
3. DDoS attacks
Your site is flooded with traffic until it crashes or becomes unusable. See our earlier blog on DDoS protection for more detail.
Impact: downtime, reputational damage, pressure on support.
Prevention: use a CDN, apply rate limiting, enable autoscaling and firewall rules.
4. Credential stuffing and brute force
Attackers use leaked passwords or try random combinations to gain access to accounts.
Impact: unauthorized access to user data or admin panels.
Prevention: enforce strong passwords, rate limit login attempts, enable two-factor authentication and monitor for failed attempts.
5. Insecure third-party dependencies
External scripts, packages or plug-ins can introduce vulnerabilities, especially if outdated or poorly maintained.
Impact: access to your codebase, data leaks, supply chain attacks.
Prevention: use dependency scanners, vet libraries, keep updates current and lock versions.
What you can do
No system is 100 percent secure. But you can significantly reduce risk through policy, tooling and awareness.
- Never pass raw input to the backend or database
- Apply least privilege: not every user or script needs full access
- Use HTTP security headers like CSP and X-Frame-Options
- Actively monitor for anomalies or error spikes
- Scan your codebase and dependencies regularly
How Forge handles this by default
Security is foundational at Forge. We don’t patch later, we build resilient systems from the start.
Our default practices:
- Input sanitization and server-side validation
- Project-specific security headers
- Dependency control with alerts and lockfiles
- CDN and WAF configurations matched to your use case
- Structured logging and access-managed monitoring
- Security reviews baked into every sprint
We collaborate with dev, infra and legal teams to reduce risk at every level.
Checklist: vulnerable or prepared?
- Are you using outdated plug-ins or libraries?
- Is rate limiting and two-factor auth in place for logins?
- Do you validate inputs on the server side?
- Is your hosting environment separated from your app data?
- Do you know what happens if an attack succeeds?
In summary
Cyberattacks are inevitable. But being prepared makes all the difference. Every step you take makes your platform less attractive to attackers.
At Forge, we build with security as a default. Want to know how your site scores? We’re happy to take a look and help you build something better.