What's an API

An application program interface (API) is a program that allows two software elements to communicate and share information. For example, a smartphone-based weather application uses an API to retrieve frequent weather data from a service. this weather application communicates with the system through APIs to generate weather updates. An API is developed using mostly three architectural styles: Representational State Transfer (REST) ,Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and RPC. Whereas the SOAP procedure is executed over numerous lower-level protocols, such as web-based Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the REST and RPC processes use various protocols, including JavaScript Object Notation, Transport Layer Security (TLS), and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

What’s API Security?

API Security implies policies and processes that secure Application program interfaces (APIs) from vulnerabilities and malicious actors. API security entails protecting information transmitted through APIs, simply between a server and a client that are linked over a network. APIs are used by organizations to link services and transmit information. An exposed, compromised, or hacked API results in the exposure of sensitive data, financial transactions, and personal information. APIs are susceptible to security flaws in backend data systems. In the event a hacker compromises an API provider, all the API information and functionality might be as well be compromised. Today, with the increasing popularity of serverless architectures, the Internet of Things (IoT), and microservices, virtually all business applications rely on APIs for fundamental functionality. Consequently, API security has become a central part of contemporary information security.

Significance of API Security

As aforementioned, with the upsurge of modern technologies such as microservices, IoT, and serverless architecture where almost every application relies on API for key functionalities, cyber threats have become more prevalent. A 2022's report by Salt Security showed that 94 percent of businesses suffered security issues in the production of API and 20 percent of the organizations experience security breaches due to security flaws associated with APIs. Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), a non-profit organization enumerated the top API security issues. From the list, API suffers a variety of attacks, such as parameter attacks, DDoS attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, SQL injection attacks, etc.,

Major API Security Threats

The rise in API-affiliated security issues over the past few years has prompted researchers and industry players to establish the top API security concerns. This has helped raise awareness to users of the severest API security issues that affect businesses: They include:

a) Broken-Level Authorization: APIs usually reveal endpoint handling object identifiers. Thus, all functions that allow user inputs and use them to gain access to an information source can construct a Level Access Control concern, broadening the surface of the attack. As such, users should implement object-level authorization assessments for such functions.

b) Broken User Authentication: Oftentimes, hackers take advantage of improperly applied authentication methods. The attackers may exploit security gaps and or compromise authentication to impersonate a legitimate user, either on a short-term basis or in perpetuity. If the attackers succeed to compromise the ability of a system to detect a client/user, then the overall API security is in jeopardy.

c) Excessive Exposure of Data: Often, developers depend on the side of the client to refine information before displaying it to them. this creates severe security concerns - information should always be refined at the server end, and only the appropriate data should be presented to the client.

d) Resource inadequacy and rate limiting: Often, APIs do not limit the amount or magnitude of resources a client/user wishes to request. As a result, the API server performance is affected and can trigger DoS attacks or expose authentication susceptibilities, resulting in brute force cyber-attacks.

e) Broken Function-Level Authorization: Authorization faults are usually caused by excessively sophisticated access control strategies. Also, they can emerge where there is no coherent distinction between ordinary and administrative roles/functions. Hackers can exploit these flaws, access users' resources, and carry out administrative functions.

f) Mass Assignment: Binding of client/user-provided information to an information model grounded on an allowlist, and without appropriate refining of the properties causes mass assignment. Hackers can use different tactics to compromise object properties, including exploring the API endpoints, reading documentation, or providing extra properties.

g) Security misconfiguration: This is caused by inaccurate default or incomplete configurations, inaccurate HTTP mechanisms, open cloud storage, and error messages.

h) Injection: Injection faults, such as SQL, NoSQL, or command injection comprise information transferred by an untrusted party to an interpreter via commands or queries. Hackers can transmit malicious information to lure interpreters into implementing heinous commands.

i) Inappropriate management of assets: The exposure of debug endpoints can widen the attack surface.

j) Poor Logging and monitoring: Hackers can exploit logging and monitoring flaws, strengthen their grasp and extract more data.

API Security Best practices

To warrant API security and protect organizations against attackers, an enterprise should implement these policies.

a) authenticate queries

b) use a gateway

c) encrypt API requests

d) enable access control

e) restrict API queries

f) keep API updated APIs built by Sunny Security Labs always follow the best security practices.