Hack Proofing Your Web Applications: The Only Way to Stop a Hacker Is to Think Like One

As a developer, the best possible way to focus on security is to begin to think like a hacker. Examine the methods that hackers use to break into and attack Web sites and use that knowledge to prevent attacks. You already test your code for functionality; one step further is to test it for security—attempt to break into it by finding some hole that you may have unintentionally left in.