How can I be this stupid? — My First Postmortem 😩
A simple mistake that cost me approximately two weeks of time to fix as a Full Stack Developer while working on an application project for one of my clients. Read this and take note of my mistake.
I just so happened to have successfully worked on and finished an application project for one of my clients that took me a week to complete. I had to use pre-hacked templates to create the application from scratch in order to keep costs down for the client. OMG! This was an expensive oversight. How am I this dreadful?
ISSUE SYNOPSIS
A site redirection to another website was the problem my client was having. Three months following the application’s deployment, the problem initially surfaced. I attempted to address a few flaws, but the problem still persists. The site redirection had the most effect and was annoying for my client. The template utilized to construct the application, in my opinion, had problems or was even accidentally hacked.
The client first noticed the problem on January 23. I had to look into the third-party plugins that were used to add features to the application first, and then the hosting and cpanel, which included the database. Then I requested that a thorough scan be conducted by the clients’ hosting company to find the issue’s underlying source.
I had to disable and uninstall a few plugins at first, but the problem persisted. Checked the media files added but all to no avail.
Finally, I had to consult a top industry specialist, who gave me the advice to look at the template that was used to develop the application. As a Full Stack Developer, I had to first inform all the current users that the program was undergoing maintenance and that it will be back in a short while so they wouldn’t become upset. Afterwards, taking into account the earlier configurations, I developed a new version of the application utilizing an original, licensed template.
The problem was triggered by the hacker injecting some harmful files on the hosting files for the program, which is why my client and users constantly getting redirected whenever they try to access it. The problem was only temporarily fixed by deleting the harmful files. I had to rebuild and revamp the program with a new version in order for me to be able to do a long-lasting fix for the issue.
The templates to be utilized in the future in case of revamping, as well as the external plugins and files to be used, are some of the things that I believe should be improved and addressed. Installing monitoring tools like WorldFence and Firewall can also help keep an eye on how the application is running and alert you as soon as any dangerous files are detected.