CompTIA CASP+ Practice Test

Which of the following practices should a web administrator implement to avoid security risks when developing a web form?

1. Input validation

2. User authentication

3. Data encryption

4. Password policies

The correct answer is: Input validation

Implementing input validation is essential for web administrators to avoid security risks when developing web forms. Input validation ensures that any data entered by users adheres to expected formats, types, and lengths. By rigorously checking the data before processing it, administrators can prevent various forms of attacks, such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), SQL Injection, and other injection attacks that exploit unvalidated user input. Validating input helps ensure that only acceptable data reaches the server-side application, mitigating the risk of potentially harmful data that could compromise the application's security. For instance, if an application expects a date in a specific format, input validation can reject data that does not conform to this format. This way, any malicious attempts to disrupt or exploit the system can be identified and blocked at an early stage. Other practices, while important, address different aspects of security. User authentication ensures that only authorized users gain access to certain functionalities but does not directly prevent malicious data input. Data encryption protects data during transport and storage but does not mitigate the risks associated with harmful input. Password policies are crucial for maintaining user account security but do not address the integrity and validation of data being submitted through web forms. Thus, while they are important components of overall security, input validation is