Investigating Websites and Web Application Vulnerabilities: Webmaster’s Perspective

The Development in Information Technology (IT) have raised up a lot of fears about the risk to information concomitant with feeble IT security, including weakness to malware, attacks, virus and compromise of network systems and services. Anyone who goes on the net is vulnerable to security threats. Inadequate IT security may result in compromised integrity, confidentiality and the release of sensitive data to unauthorized persons. In most development communities and countries, IT vulnerability has become an important concept employed to guide the evaluation, design and targeting of programs. Remaining ahead of the everevolving threat of an information break on websites and web application necessitates conscientiousness on the part webmasters and heads of IT sections within an organization in understanding and anticipating the risks. This paper seek to examine the knowledge of webmasters and heads of IT sections on threats and vulnerabilities on the cyber world of selected institutions in Ghana through semi-structured questioners and one-on-one interview and proposed away forward in boosting the knowledge base of IT and Webmaster, hence contribute to the reduction of cyber-crime in the country and also outline some guidelines on how to surf the web safely to end-users. The survey showed that, on an average 47% of the respondent have little or no knowledge in at least one or more of the existing website vulnerabilities. General Terms Websites and web application vulnerabilities