WEB 2.0 SECURITY THREATS AND MITIGATION MEAUSURES (Research Paper Sample)

Web 2.0 Security Threats and Mitigation Measures Student Name University Name The 1st generation World Wide Web (WWW) was a revolutionary invention designed in 1991 and gifted to humanity by Tim Berners-Lee and CERN. Its users were mostly content consumers, only receiving what was presented to them with minimal or no interaction at all. Web 2.0 represents a progressive and aggressive departure from this, more so in the 21st century where participation, contribution of user generated content as well as enhanced usability without the burden of technical knowledge enriches the interaction and experience between browsers and web publishers (Jackson, 2011). It is however good to note that although equal contribution rights to all presents massive benefits towards quality collaboration, debate and engagement, it also exposes its users to significant network vulnerabilities and risks, specifically towards malicious activity and data loss. Increased adoption and entrenchment of most of these Web 2.0 solutions in corporations to enhance productivity and marketing, has led more enterprises to contend with the need to advance in this new direction without the negative tradeoffs for privacy and security risks inherent in such platforms. Examples of such applications that have gained a considerable foothold include social networking technologies like Facebook and twitter. Recent research has further shown that beyond losses in productivity and vulnerabilities to data leaks, Web 2.0 presents inherent security risks which include but are not limited to; malware and virus introduction, information overexposure, spyware increase, spam volume increase, exposed entry points as well as data leaks (Almeida, 2012). Current paths being explored to mitigate these security risks include; development and implementation of organizational policies that regulate use of the Web 2.0 applications, Installation of anti malware software, customization of browser settings to the highest level, integration of data integrity to ensure protection against data loss, avoidance of clickjacking, applic...