Course Overview - Web Security

Learn more and enroll in this course: https://online.stanford.edu/courses/xacs133-web-security As web applications and APIs increasingly power essential services and handle sensitive data, they have become prime targets for modern attackers. Understanding how common web vulnerabilities are exploited—and how to design and defend systems to prevent them—is now foundational for anyone building or securing web technologies. When you enroll in Stanford Online's Web Security course, you’ll learn how web applications function and how browsers protect users using secure communication, sessions, and basic security rules. You’ll examine common web attacks, understand how attackers exploit weaknesses in web applications, and learn practical mitigation strategies. The Web Security course emphasizes secure design and defense strategies, including strengthening authentication, securing web services and APIs, and monitoring third-party resources for vulnerabilities. Through interactive virtual labs and course exercises, you’ll gain hands-on experience identifying security issues, applying ethical hacking techniques, and evaluating modern protections, including emerging security considerations for AI-powered web applications. · Evaluate the goals and constraints of the Web Security Model while demonstrating a foundational understanding of core technologies like HTTP/HTTPS, TLS, cookies, sessions, and the Same-Origin Policy. · Distinguish and analyze the mechanics of prevalent web attacks (including XSS, CSRF, SSRF, SQL Injection, and cookie attacks) to formulate high-level mitigation strategies. · Explain how filtering malicious contents, SameSite cookies, input validation, parameterized input, and secure cookies can be used to mitigate such attacks. · Select and justify the application of advanced defensive techniques, such as Content Security Policy, Subresource Integrity, and secure authentication mechanisms, to proactively prevent web attacks. · Explain how Software Bill