Why IT Teams Struggle with API Security and How to Fix It

Driven by digital transformation, Organizations are rapidly adopting API to streamline their internal and external operations. According to a report by Gartner, 45% of companies use APIs to ensure service reliability. This number rises to 59% in the case of large enterprises.

APIs are highly valuable tools for businesses in every sector, APIs promote collaboration and partnership and lead to better development practices. However, APIs pose security risks as they are the gateways to sensitive data. The same report by Gartner also mentions that around 50% of all APIs are unmanaged in companies.

Maintaining API security is a huge obstacle to the IT teams. They continuously struggle with API security as the computing environment expands. So in this post, we are going to take a look at why IT teams struggle with API security. We have also mentioned some effective ways on how to fix it.

Understanding API

An Application Programming Interface or API is a defined set of rules and protocols through which two software components communicate with each other. APIs act as the messengers between the client and the server. The client is the software component that sends the request and the server is a component that responds to the request.

How APIs Drive Modern Business

APIs play a game-changing role in modern business by facilitating seamless integration and data exchange between software applications. Businesses use APIs to connect data sources, internal systems, and partner applications. APIs ultimately foster innovation to create new products or services, enhance user experience,  and improve time-to-market.

Why API Security is Essential

APIs act as the gateway to sensitive data between applications. This makes APIs a prime target for cyberattacks to access the private information of businesses. Without proper precautions, hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in APIs to access and manipulate the system. This could result in data leaks, service disruption, and even financial losses to businesses.

Why do IT teams Struggle with API security?

Hackers are constantly evolving their strategies to access private information. Outdated API security measures don’t work against these new strategies, compromising the safety of sensitive data. Similarly, there are several other reasons why IT teams often face issues with maintaining API security.

Here are some of the prominent reasons behind API security issues:

Lack of Visibility over APIs

Many IT teams struggle to identify all the APIs in the environment. Undocumented (or Shadow) APIs and Obsolete (or Zombie) APIs often go undetected and are major contributors to API security breaches. These APIs are not detected in regular security scans and updates, leaving them unpatched and exposed to potential attackers. These APIs can act as entry points for attackers to access the system.

Flaws in the Authentication Process

APIs rely on authentication to grant access to data and other resources. Any flaw in the authentication process of the system can jeopardize API security. Attackers can capitalize on any of these flaws to access the data and resources that they are not meant to. There could be several flaws in an authentication process such as the use of weak passwords, failed validation of user cookies, or lack of JWT expiration.

Broken Access Control

Access control in APIs is an important security measure that controls who can access sensitive data and functionality within an API. Failure to implement proper access control can lead to API security problems. Hackers use broken access control attacks to exploit poor access control. This allows them to gain unauthorized access to system data and other functionalities.

Over-Reliance on Traditional Security Tools

Organizations often neglect to upgrade their security tools and keep using the traditional ones. Traditional tools like Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) and basic authentication mechanisms are not capable of handling API-specific threats. As hackers use modern technologies for cyberattacks, old and traditional security tools cannot withstand their highly sophisticated attacks.

Lack of Rate Limiting

Rate limiting is a measure to control the rate at which APIs process requests. Without specifying the rate limiting for APIs, excessive requests will overload the system resulting in it failing or crashing. This can lead to loss of data and service outages. Such conditions provide an opportunity for hackers to easily breach the system, take over its control, and access sensitive data stored in it.

How to Fix API Security Issues?

Here are some recommended solutions to fix the previously mentioned API security issues that IT teams struggle with:

Implement API Discovery Tools

Modern API discovery tools can automatically detect all the APIs in a system, including Shadow and Zombie APIs. These tools give a detailed map of all the APIs and ensure full visibility over the API landscape. Using these tools prevents the exploitation of undocumented and unused APIs by hackers as potential entry points.

The benefits of using API discovery tools are;

• Ensures all APIs are documented and monitored
• Updates all APIs with the latest security patches
• Reduces blind spots in API security

Implement Authentication Control 

Implementing strong authentication and session management control ensures that there are no flaws in the authentication process. Using multi-factor authentication, session timeouts, strong passwords, and end-to-end data encryption strengthens the authentication process.

The benefits of implementing strong authentication control are;

• Helps to control who can access APIs
• Detects and stops hackers from accessing critical data
• Helps to comply with data protection regulations

Implement Access Control Measures

It is essential to implement proper access control measures in the API system to protect against broken access control attacks. This measure can include continuous inspection, limiting CORS usage, enabling role-based access control, permission-based access control, and mandatory access control.

The benefits of implementing access control measures are;

• Prevents unauthorized access to APIs
• Limits API access as per user needs
• Maintains operational integrity

Use Advanced API Security Tools

Using advanced security tools is an effective measure to protect APIs from cyberattacks. Use security tools specifically for the type of APIs being used. Advanced tools offer features like runtime protection and advanced behavioral analysis. They go beyond the capabilities of traditional WAFs.

The benefits of using advanced API protection tools are;

• Detects threats in real-time
• Comprehensive protection against logic-based API attacks
• Encryption of sensitive data

Add Rate Limits

API security can be significantly improved by adding a rate limit to the number of incoming requests that can be made per unit of time. Rate limiting ensures that the system does not overload with excessive requests and no downtime occurs. This reduces the opportunities for attackers to target the APIs.

The benefits of adding rate limits are;

• Prevents overuse of resources
• Improves performance of APIs
• Reduces risks of denial-of-service attacks

Conclusion

Vulnerable APIs are always at risk of unauthorized access and data breaches, which could result in major losses for a business. IT teams put continuous efforts into improving API security. However, the advancement of cyberattacks keeps them struggling to maintain the integrity of APIs and ensure data safety.

Several API security issues keep IT teams worried, but they can be effectively fixed by taking proper measures. The ultimate aim of prioritizing API security is to safeguard the sensitive data of businesses and their customers from potential cyberattacks that can happen at any time and in any form.