Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks can be devastating for many businesses and organizations, as they allow attackers to perform unauthorized activities on behalf of legitimate users. As such, it’s important to understand and implement CSRF defense strategies to protect your organization’s data and resources. To help you get started, we’ve gathered advice from two security experts – Jeremiah Grossman and Tom Brennan – on the best ways to defend against CSRF attacks.
First, Jeremiah Grossman recommends using an anti-CSRF token. This token is a random string of data that is generated and embedded in a form or link on a website. It is then used to verify that the request is coming from the correct user. This token should be generated securely, and should be validated on the server side before allowing any action to be completed.
Tom Brennan also suggests using a “synchronizer token” as a form of CSRF defense. This token is generated on the server side, and then sent to the client side along with the form or link. When the form or link is submitted, the token is sent back to the server, where it is verified to ensure that the request is coming from the correct user.
Both Jeremiah Grossman and Tom Brennan also recommend using an “origin” header to verify the source of the request. This header contains the IP address of the user that is making the request, and can be used to verify that the request is coming from the correct user.
Finally, Jeremiah Grossman suggests implementing a “captcha” system, which is a type of challenge-response test that is used to verify that the user is a real person. This is especially useful for preventing automated scripts from executing CSRF attacks.
By following these CSRF defense strategies from Jeremiah Grossman and Tom Brennan, you can help protect your organization from unauthorized activities. Remember to generate tokens securely, use an origin header to verify the source of the request, and implement a captcha system to prevent automated scripts from executing attacks. With these strategies in place, you can help ensure that your business or organization is safe from CSRF attacks.
