The Codeless Guide to Hashing and Hash Tables

As a full-stack developer and professional coder, I‘ve come to appreciate the power and versatility of hashing and hash tables. These techniques are used pervasively across the computing landscape, from low-level systems programming to high-level web development. In this guide, we‘ll dive deep into the world of hashing and hash tables, exploring their inner workings,…

The CIA Triad: Safeguarding Your Data in the Digital Age

In today‘s increasingly connected world, cybersecurity has become a top priority for individuals and organizations alike. At the heart of any robust security strategy lies the CIA Triad — Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. These three principles form the foundation upon which all security measures are built, ensuring that your sensitive data remains protected from unauthorized…

What is Session Hijacking and How to Stop It: A Comprehensive Guide

As a full-stack developer, one of your top priorities is ensuring the security of your web applications. Among the many security threats you need to be aware of, session hijacking stands out as a particularly dangerous and prevalent one. In this in-depth guide, we‘ll dive into what session hijacking is, how it works, the risks…

Deep Dive into the Sense Machine from HackTheBox

Greetings fellow hackers! Today we‘re embarking on a guided exploration of the retired Sense machine from HackTheBox. For the uninitiated, HackTheBox is a phenomenal resource for legally leveling up your penetration testing skills through a diverse array of intentionally vulnerable virtual machines. Whether you‘re an aspiring security professional or a seasoned ethical hacker, working through…

How to Design Secure Web Forms: Validate, Sanitize, and Control

As a seasoned full-stack developer, I‘ve seen countless web applications fall victim to preventable security breaches. More often than not, these devastating attacks exploit vulnerabilities introduced by improperly handling user input. According to the 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, over 80% of hacking-related breaches involve brute force or the use of lost or stolen…

Schofield‘s Laws of Computing: Timeless Principles for Developers

As software engineers, working with data is our lifeblood. We spend our days knee-deep in databases and data flows, architecting systems to process, transform, and serve information at scale. But in the daily grind of code sprints and shipping features, it can be all too easy to lose sight of the fundamentals—the core philosophies that…

How to Protect Your Website Against SEO Poisoning: A Full-Stack Developer‘s Guide

As a full-stack developer, one of your primary responsibilities is to ensure the security and integrity of the websites you build. While you may be well-versed in secure coding practices and protecting against common vulnerabilities like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS), there‘s another insidious threat that often flies under the radar: SEO poisoning. In…

How to Protect Your Laravel Web Application Against the OWASP Top 10 Security Risks

Back when I first started developing web applications in college, I didn‘t give much thought to security. I was just excited to build something interactive that anyone could access through their web browser. That changed when one of my earliest PHP apps got hacked. The attacker exploited a SQL injection vulnerability to deface the site,…

How to Protect Against DDoS Attacks: The Ultimate Guide for Developers and IT Pros

DDoS attacks continue to be one of the most prevalent and costly threats facing organizations across all industries. Research from Netscout‘s Threat Intelligence Report found that there were 5.4 million DDoS attacks in the first half of 2021 alone, an 11% increase from the same time period in 2020. Attacks are also growing larger and…

Principle of Least Privilege – Definition and Meaning in Cybersecurity

As a full-stack developer and professional coder, I know firsthand the importance of implementing strong security controls in the software development lifecycle. One of the most critical and often overlooked principles is the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP). In this article, I‘ll dive deep into what PoLP means, why it‘s essential for cybersecurity, and how…

How to Strengthen Your Personal Cybersecurity Posture (Even If You‘re "Just This Guy")

You might think that as an average, everyday person, cybersecurity isn‘t something you need to worry about. "I‘m not important enough to be targeted by hackers," you say to yourself as you use the same easy-to-guess password across a dozen different online accounts. "There‘s nothing valuable on my laptop anyway." Sound familiar? If so, I‘m…

OWASP API Security Top 10: A Developer‘s Guide to Hardening APIs

APIs are the lifeblood of modern digital services, powering everything from mobile apps to single-page web applications to B2B integrations. As a full-stack developer, you know that APIs are key to unlocking rich functionality and seamless interoperability. But you also need to be acutely aware that APIs have become the number one attack vector for…