Recently, our monitoring system detected a SQL Injection attack originating from an Amazon AWS server in Virginia, United States. Although the attempt was blocked, this incident highlights a growing trend: automated bot-driven SQLi scans targeting everyday business websites.
In this article, we break down what happened, why it matters, and how you can protect your business from similar attacks.
What Exactly Happened?
The attacker sent the following crafted query to the website:
"country=Lao People's Democratic Republic"At first glance, it looks harmless, even legitimate. But hidden inside is the key attack element:
The single quote (') in “People’s”
Hackers and bots use this character to break your database queries and test if your site is vulnerable to SQL injection.
If your website processes input like:
SELECT * FROM users WHERE country = '$country';Then an attacker can force the database into errors or even inject harmful commands.
This is phase one of a SQLi attack: probing for weaknesses.
Why This SQL Injection Attempt Is Serious
If the site were vulnerable, the attacker could:
- Access your entire database
- Steal customer data
- Bypass admin login
- Modify or delete records
- Install malware on your site
- Completely take over your system
The attack originated from:
- ISP: AMAZON-AES (Amazon EC2 cloud server)
- Location: Ashburn, Virginia, United States
- User-Agent: Fake Chrome browser (Chrome 81, outdated — sign of a bot)
This confirms it was an automated scanning bot, not a real visitor.
Why Hackers Use AWS, Google Cloud & Microsoft Azure
Cloud servers are:
- Cheap to rent
- Hard to track
- Globally distributed
- Easy to automate for attacks
Attackers often hide behind powerful cloud infrastructures to run thousands of scans every hour.
How This Attack Was Blocked
Our system flagged it immediately as:
- Threat Type: SQLi
- Issue: Suspicious query containing a single-quote injection
- Browser: Fake/invalid
- Referer: None (common for bots)
Modern security tools can detect these patterns before they reach your PHP code or database.
What This Means for Business Owners
Even if your website is small, new, or not well-known:
You are being scanned daily.
Bots probe every public website automatically.
One vulnerable page is enough for a full system breach.
This is why businesses must move from reactive to proactive security.
Protect Your Website Before Hackers Find a Weakness
SQL injection is one of the oldest cyberattacks, yet still one of the most dangerous.
You can protect your website with:
- Input sanitization
- Prepared statements
- Web application firewall
- HTTPS redirection
- Bot filtering
- Automatic IP blocking
- Real-time threat detection
But managing all this manually is difficult for small businesses.
That’s why we recommend an automated solution.
Protect Your Website Today With Cyber Defence – Website Protector
Cyber Defence is built to stop attacks like the one above before they reach your site.
It provides:
✔ Real-time SQL injection protection
✔ Instant bot blocking
✔ IP reputation scoring
✔ OWASP-level firewall rules
✔ Protection against brute-force attacks
✔ Email alerts for suspicious activity
✔ Automated threat mitigation
✔ Zero configuration needed
If this SQLi attack had targeted an unprotected site, the results could have been devastating.
Don’t wait for a breach.
Start protecting your website now.
Secure your website today:
https://cybersmartempire.com/cyberdefence/
The SQL injection attempt from IP 18.215.185.156 is a reminder that cybersecurity is no longer optional for modern websites. Whether you run a blog, e-commerce site, or business platform, automated bots are probing your system right now.
With Cyber Defence – Website Protector, you get continuous security without technical stress.
