Blog | G5 Cyber Security

Webcache Security: Is it Safer?

G5 Cyber Security

TL;DR

Webcache pages can be more secure than directly accessing a website, but it’s not automatic. It depends on how the cache is configured and what you’re trying to protect against. Caches can shield you from some attacks (like DDoS) and serve static content faster, but they don’t fix underlying website vulnerabilities. Think of them as an extra layer, not a replacement for good cyber security practices.

Understanding Webcaches

A webcache stores copies of webpages closer to you – on servers geographically nearer than the original site. This speeds things up and reduces load on the main website. Common examples include Google Cache, Cloudflare, and browser caches.

How Caches Improve Security (and How They Don’t)

  1. DDoS Protection: Many caching services (like Cloudflare) act as a reverse proxy. This means attack traffic hits the cache server first. The cache can absorb some of the impact, preventing it from reaching your website’s origin server.
    • This is particularly effective against volumetric attacks – floods of requests.
    • However, sophisticated DDoS attacks can still bypass caching layers.
  2. Static Content Serving: Caches excel at serving static files (images, CSS, JavaScript). This reduces the load on your web server and potentially lowers the attack surface.
    • Less processing on the origin server means fewer opportunities for exploits.
  3. Malware Scanning: Some caching services include malware scanning features. They can detect and block malicious content before it’s served to users.
  4. WAF (Web Application Firewall): Cloudflare and similar providers often offer WAF capabilities as part of their service. This filters out common web attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). 
    # Example: Cloudflare WAF rule to block requests from a specific country
(ip.geoip.country == "RU") and (http.request.uri contains "/admin/") -> Block
  5. What Caches Don’t Do: Caches don’t fix vulnerabilities in your website’s code.
    • If your site has an XSS flaw, the cache will store and serve the vulnerable page.
    • Caches are only as good as the security of the caching provider itself.

Checking if a Site is Cached

  1. Google Cache: Search for “cache:” followed by the website URL in Google (e.g., cache:example.com). If it shows a cached version, it’s been indexed.
  2. Browser Developer Tools: Open your browser’s developer tools (usually F12). Go to the Network tab and reload the page. Look for “(cached)” next to resources – this indicates they were loaded from the cache. 
    # Example: Inspecting a resource in Chrome DevTools
  3. HTTP Headers: Use a tool like curl or your browser’s developer tools to inspect HTTP headers. Look for headers like X-Cache, which indicate whether the response came from the cache. 
    curl -I example.com

Improving Your Web Security – Beyond Caching

  1. Keep Software Updated: Regularly update your CMS (WordPress, Drupal, etc.), plugins, and server software.
  2. Strong Passwords & Authentication: Use strong passwords and enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible.
  3. Input Validation & Output Encoding: Prevent XSS and SQL injection attacks by validating user input and encoding output correctly.
  4. Regular Security Scans: Use vulnerability scanners to identify weaknesses in your website’s code.
  5. HTTPS: Always use HTTPS to encrypt traffic between your users and your server.

Conclusion

Webcaches can contribute to cyber security, particularly by mitigating DDoS attacks and serving static content efficiently. However, they are not a silver bullet. A robust web security strategy requires a multi-layered approach that addresses vulnerabilities in your website’s code and infrastructure.

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