Like water, hackers take the path of least resistance. Today, this path leads over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to get past most corporate firewalls, where nothing exists between a hacker, a Web site and the information it holds. Using a browser and a few simple tricks, hackers can penetrate a Web site, access its credit-card database and make off with the goods unseen.

With firewalls and patch management now being standard practices, the network perimeter has become increasingly secure. Determined to stay a step ahead, hackers have moved up the software stack, focusing on the Web site itself. According to a Gartner analyst, more than 70 percent of cyberattacks occur at the application layer. So what's a solution provider to do? To improve the security of the Web, you must dispel five largely held misconceptions.

By Jeremiah Grossman at VARBusiness.

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