APIs are constantly redefining the user experience, but they also provide additional levels of vulnerability that make them appealing targets for attackers.
Today’s web and mobile applications rely heavily on APIs since the power practically all online activities, including placing food orders, purchasing tickets, downloading music, and checking flights.
Why do attackers see them as prime targets? How can strong API security be ensured? Find out by reading on.
What Makes APIs the Heart of Applications?
Regardless of the programming language, platform, or data schema, APIs enable linking any program, software, or data source from around the world. They facilitate smooth user experiences by accelerating website/application performance while operating in the background.
API-based modern apps are more adaptable, agile, and hassle-free than bulky monolithic ones. To keep up with the evolving technological and commercial environments, developers can continue to innovate and enhance app functionalities.
Why do attackers prioritize targeting APIs?
Due to Their Nature
Because of their very nature, APIs have access to and expose sensitive data, databases, and the underlying code of the online and mobile applications that use them.
They are created to be programmatically accessible, to put it simply.
By creating malicious software or software tools that misuse APIs, attackers can transmit malware, exfiltrate data, and other things easily, thanks to its openness and utility. Due to their inherent vulnerabilities, they are prime targets for attackers.
The Widespread Use of APIs
As we transition to headless and microservice architectures, APIs are used across corporate operations, domains, and industries. They are just as beneficial to health care, education, and fintech. They are essential components of contemporary SaaS, mobile, and web apps. They can be found in apps used internally, with partners, and with customers.
Due to widespread use, attackers have a larger surface and various endpoints to search for flaws and gaps. APIs are excellent targets for attackers because they reveal many internal workings and implementations of apps.
Inability to see the attack surface
The application architecture has an increasing number of API endpoints. They enable developers to continue inventing because they are simple to deploy and integrate. They function in many networks and settings.
Organizations are using a variety of third-party APIs and parts. Manually tracking and inventorying this expanding endpoint population is not humanly conceivable.
The fact that they operate in the background doesn’t help.
Organizational silos make security more difficult because only development teams may know the complete API design. Security teams could thus be caught off guard by API threats. Implementing security in online APIs is difficult due to the lack of centralized visibility into the attack surface, making them desirable targets for attackers.
API security awareness is generally lacking
While API security issues may superficially resemble browser-based security issues, they are distinct, sophisticated, and challenging. The security and development teams’ ignorance of API security results in poorly maintained and exposed endpoints that attackers can quickly exploit.
Utilization of Security Products Not Designed for APIs
In keeping with the last point, organizations frequently employ security tools that aren’t explicitly designed for APIs. Due to this, they are vulnerable to malicious web applications and API security risks. How so?
- More and more vulnerabilities in APIs are distinct from those in web apps.
- Requests to APIs are continually evolving. Traditional systems, particularly firewalls, require manual configuration and tuning to account for these changes. And this is a time-consuming, expensive, and error-prone process.
- Clients directly access apps, services, or software components; they do not require browsers. Therefore, browser verification-based traditional solutions are unsuccessful.
- Traditional solutions not created for APIs are unsuccessful in preventing dangerous bot attacks and automated API traffic.
Inadequate Access Control, Authorization, and Authentication Policies
Since organizations frequently neglect to create zero-trust controls while using APIs, unlimited access to data and functionality is granted. APIs are vulnerable to attacks because of poor access control, authorization, and authentication procedures, making it simple for attackers to get around security.
Additional Factors Making APIs Prime Attack Targets
- defects in the design
- Bugs in the implementation
- Several API catalogs lack complete documentation.
How Can Organizations Ensure API Security be Effective?
Organizations must select an API security solution tailored for APIs and risk-based, comprehensive, scalable, and ultimately managed. It must offer immediate, proactive, and efficient defense against the OWASP Top 10 API Risks and other threats and dangers unique to APIs.
It must provide automated discovery of all API endpoints, parameters, data types, and APIs, as well as API dependencies and third-party APIs, and it must offer real-time insight into traffic hitting API endpoints. The solution must be agile, adaptable, and constantly updated to stay up with the shifting threat, business, and technological landscapes.
