Vast number of vulnerabilities found in source code

In nine out of ten cases, website visitors could fall victim to hackers. This is according to a new report from Positive Technologies, which also suggests 16 percent of applications contain serious vulnerabilities.

Not only could these vulnerabilities allow hackers to gain full control of a system but also, in certain cases, full control of the web application server. Having accessed the web server, attackers could introduce malware or even deface a website completely.

The report also discovered that most vulnerabilities (82 percent) are found in application source code, suggesting it isn't thoroughly checked and that developers are prioritising functionality over security. According to the report's analysis of whose web apps performed best and worst, financial institutions have the most secure web applications, while government apps are the least secure.