[Carlos Martes]

One of the Top 10 OWASP security principles is broken authentication and session management. This principle focuses on protecting user account and sessions from being hijacked or misused. If authentication processes are weak, like using default passwords, not enforcing strong password policies or even allowing sessions to stay active too long, attackers can easily gain authorized access. Once inside, they can steal data, impersonate users, or damage systems. Implementing proper controls such as multifactor authentication, secure password storage ( using hashing and salting), and automatic session timeouts is critical to prevent this. It’s also important to avoid exposing sensitive information in URLs or logs. This principle is vital because authentication is often the first defense line in any system. It it fails, all other protections can become useless. Ensuring strong and secure authentication helps maintain the confidentiality, integrity and trust of both users and the organization.