How to Mitigate Major API Security Challenges

API adoption is increasing in all sectors due to digital transformation, which motivates malicious attacks against APIs. API security implementations continue to lag behind the security needs of organizations.

Fremont, CA: APIs power most digital experiences today, but CXOs remain concerned about security. Digital transformation is driving API adoption in every sector, which in turn is driving an increase in malicious API attacks. There is an ongoing security gap between the security needs of organizations and the implementation of API security. It has been difficult for organizations to comprehend the complex attack surfaces, and they often lack a clear defense strategy. 

A number of challenges and threats affect the API ecosystem, and this article explores how to secure APIs.

Security challenges for APIs

The API is at the heart of almost every digital experience. Regulatory requirements, micro service architecture, mobile and web apps, websites, and mobile apps are all made up of them. Applications communicate and share data using APIs. API support is needed for simple procedures such as text messaging and e-commerce, as well as checking the news.

An increase in cloud migration has led to an expansion of attack surfaces

As cloud computing technology becomes more widely used, more SaaS are being migrated to the cloud, providing more services for more users. Cloud services use more APIs than traditional data centers. This may result in both East-West and North-South traffic becoming API attack surfaces.

Technological advancements and enterprise growth optimize for speed and

Agility, at the expense of API security

There is no doubt that the agile model is the mainstream development model. In agile development, interaction is stressed, working software is developed, customers are consulted, and changes are responded to quickly. While this model improves innovation and flexibility, API security is the responsibility of the developers. When developing software, developers often overlook API security issues. 

API interfaces are invisible to users but not to attackers

The APIs in an application or system is written by programmers, so they are the only ones within the organization who know about them. Due to this lack of visibility, security teams have difficulty detecting potential security loopholes during routine security maintenance. Unprotected APIs can be found using network traffic, reverse code, or known security vulnerabilities.

Attack vectors against APIs

The number of API attacks is three times greater than that of HTML applications. It is still common for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities such as weak passwords, authorizations, and injections. Moreover, parser-based attacks, such as JSON and XML, as well as API integrations from third parties are becoming more common. Businesses can be disrupted by all of these factors.