Sql Injection Attacks

SQL Injection attack is the most common website hacking technique. Most websites use Structured Query Language (SQL) to interact with databases. SQL allows the website to create, retrieve, update, and delete database records. It used for everything from logging a user into the website to storing details of an eCommerce transaction. An SQL injection attack places SQL into a web form in an attempt to get the application to run it. For example, instead of typing plain text into a username or password field, a hacker may type in ‘ OR 1=1. If the application appends this string directly to an SQL command that is designed to check if a user exists in the database, it will always return true. This can allow a hacker to gain access to a restricted section of a website. Other SQL injection attacks can be used to delete data from the database or insert new data. Hackers sometimes use automated tools to perform SQL injections on remote websites. They will scan thousands of websites, testing many types of injection attacks until they are successful. SQL injection attacks can be prevented by correctly filtering user input. Most programming languages have special functions to safely handle user input that is going to be used in an SQL query.