Eight in ten major Web sites highly vulnerable to attack

"Eight out of ten Web sites contain common flaws that can allow attackers to steal customer data, create phishing exploits, or craft a variety of other attacks, a security company reported today.

WhiteHat Security regularly scans hundreds of "very popular, very high-traffic sites" for its online business customers, says Jeremiah Grossman, the company's founder. "More than likely, you have shopped there, or bank there," he says. Thirty percent of scanned sites contain an urgent vulnerability, such as one that allows direct access to a company database with customer information, he says.

WhiteHat's report, which is available for download (with site registration), is based on scans performed between January 1, 2006, and March 31, 2007. The company scans those areas of Web sites reached after a customer logs in."

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