What is session hijacking?
When a user logs into a website or application, the system creates a session to keep them authenticated throughout their interaction. This session is usually identified by a session ID, a unique identifier that’s either stored in a cookie or transmitted through URLs. If an attacker gains access to this session ID, they can impersonate the legitimate user, effectively “hijacking” the session and accessing information and resources without authorisation.
How does my session get hijacked?
Here are some common techniques attackers use to hijack a session:
- Session Fixation: The attacker forces a user’s session ID to a known value, allowing the attacker to access the session later after the user authenticates.
- Session Sidejacking: This involves intercepting network traffic to capture session cookies over unencrypted (HTTP) connections, often using packet-sniffing tools to read session tokens in transit.
- Cross-site Scripting (XSS): Attackers can inject malicious scripts into a webpage that users visit. If successful, the script can access the user’s session cookie and send it to the attacker.
- Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks: The attacker intercepts communication between the user and the server, allowing them to capture session IDs and other sensitive information.
- Malware and Phishing: Malware can be used to steal session cookies stored on a user’s computer. Phishing emails may also trick users into visiting fake websites where attackers capture their session details.
Why businesses should be concerned about session hijacking
Risk of Data Breach and Loss of Sensitive Information
Session hijacking can lead to unauthorised access to highly sensitive data, including customer information, financial records and intellectual property. For businesses, this data exposure can result in a costly data breach, damaging both the organisation and its customers. When confidential information is compromised, it can lead to identity theft, corporate espionage and competitive disadvantage.
Financial Losses
Once attackers gain control over a session, they can perform unauthorised transactions, access payment information or commit direct fraud. Businesses, especially those in retail, finance, and e-commerce, may face financial consequences in the form of chargebacks, penalties, and direct theft of funds. Financial loss resulting from session hijacking can strain budgets, reduce profits, and add to operational costs, particularly for companies that rely heavily on online transactions.
Legal and Compliance Risks
Industries such as finance, healthcare and e-commerce must comply with stringent data protection regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS. A session hijacking incident can put businesses in violation of these regulations, leading to costly fines, sanctions, and even legal actions. Regulators may also impose stricter oversight, requiring businesses to implement and demonstrate robust cybersecurity measures to prevent further breaches.
Damage to Reputation and Loss of Customer Trust
Trust is fundamental to maintaining customer loyalty, and a single security breach can shatter that trust. Customers rely on businesses to safeguard their data and keep their accounts secure. If a session hijacking attack compromises customer accounts, it can significantly damage the company’s reputation, leading to reduced customer loyalty, loss of brand value and increased customer churn. Rebuilding reputation and customer trust after a breach is often challenging and requires extensive time and resources.
Operational Disruptions
Responding to a session hijacking attack can disrupt normal business operations. Businesses may need to activate incident response protocols, divert IT and security resources, and even temporarily suspend services to contain the attack. This disruption can impact productivity, delay projects, and divert focus from critical business functions, all of which can reduce the company’s competitive edge.
How do I protect my business against session hijacking?
To guard against session hijacking, businesses should adopt a range of security measures:
- Using HTTPS: Encrypting all communication with HTTPS protects session data from being read or intercepted by attackers during transmission.
- Secure Cookies: Setting cookies with the “Secure” and “HttpOnly” attributes restricts access to HTTPS connections and prevents JavaScript access to cookies, respectively.
- Strong Session Management: Creating unpredictable session IDs, setting automatic session expiration, and rotating session IDs after login are essential steps in mitigating session hijacking.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA helps to verify the identity of users, reducing unauthorised access even if a session ID is stolen.
- Regular Session Validation: Using IP and device validation to detect unusual session activity adds another layer of security.
How can IT Backbone help me?
Session hijacking is a complex and evolving threat that can have wide-reaching consequences for businesses. From data breaches and financial losses to legal risks and damage to your reputation, session hijacking can disrupt your business operations and harm your bottom line.
IT Backbone can help you analyse your hijacking risk, answer all your questions, and give you individual advice and training.
If you would like to know more, have a chat with Jason Chaplin.
