I've recently started working at a major industrial company, and I'm shocked by how many internal web applications have unprotected backend endpoints. While some of them do have authentication for the frontend, the backend seems to be left wide open. Given that these applications operate on the company's internal network, I find it critical to secure the data, especially to prevent breaches or maintain confidentiality. Has anyone else encountered this extreme security flaw in their experience?
6 Answers
It all depends on the purpose of those endpoints. If they can be exploited by malicious parties, that's definitely a red flag. You can never fully guarantee that no one will gain access to your internal network—one weak link is all it takes.
I have some in-house applications that aren’t heavily secured. They’re behind a firewall and meant for internal use. I’ve got basic email/password authentication in place, but I’ve been hesitant to go beyond that. For some apps, I wonder if it’s worth the extra security—like my phone directory app, which isn’t production-critical if compromised.
It's a common scenario, especially among less experienced developers and teams. More seasoned groups are usually more cautious about these vulnerabilities.
It's a disaster waiting to happen! If the APIs aren’t read-only and don’t have any form of authentication, that’s super risky. Just because something is internal doesn't mean it shouldn't be protected. The people who set these APIs up often don’t consider the future implications, and before you know it, the door’s wide open for attacks.
Common? Yes. Smart? Absolutely not. A lot of it comes down to laziness. Adopting a "trust nothing" mindset is key; you don’t want to deal with a breach caused by carelessness. Security needs to be woven into everything from the start.
It's not unusual to find internal endpoints not protected, particularly if they're behind a firewall and use HTTPS. However, external endpoints accessible from the internet should definitely have stricter protections in place. Remember, if a service is compromised, it can misuse authentication tokens, turning that service into a weak link. It's essential for actual users to authorize services for specific actions instead of assuming safety just by being on an internal network.
Yeah, but is stealing an auth token that easy, even with HTTPS? I thought proper storage could prevent this.
That's true, even internal services need adequate security; relying solely on the firewall isn't enough.