APIs, or application programming interfaces, are a set of protocols, routines, and tools that allow different applications, software systems, or components to communicate with each other. APIs play an increasingly vital role in modern digital infrastructures because they serve as the connective fabric that links applications, services, systems, and data across distributed platforms.
APIs are so foundational to today’s digital environments that organizations are increasingly taking an API-first approach, where the design of applications starts with the API. This is in contrast to a traditional “code-first” approach, where monolithic code takes priority and API design comes only later, if at all.
There’s no question that APIs are proliferating. The average organization now manages over 400 APIs within their digital infrastructure, while 68% of organizations use APIs to manage app delivery and security. Most organizations also realize the API sprawl represents a risk: 58% of organizations consider API sprawl a significant pain point. That’s because the ubiquity of APIs expands an organization’s attack surface and introduces unforeseen threats due to their interdependencies across multicloud architectures.
APIs are susceptible to vulnerability exploits, abuse from automated threats, denial of service, misconfiguration, and attacks that bypass authentication and authorization controls. Robust API security measures are essential as APIs expose critical business logic and sensitive information, and must protect user data, authentication credentials, and financial transactions from unauthorized access, manipulation, or exposure, as well as ensure API integrity and availability.
This blog post provides a quick overview of major security threats to APIs, plus a checklist that describes key API security strategies and best practices to protect APIs across multicloud environments, including access controls, input validation and output management, API testing, and monitoring. The post also recommends the top API security standards to follow and suggests API security tools to protect your valuable APIs.
Access control is the structured process of determining and enforcing which users are granted privileges to access specific resources. This process includes both authentication and authorization. Authentication is the process of verifying a user's identity, while authorization determines the level of access that the authenticated user is permitted to have.
Following are key suggestions for an access control checklist to improve API security:
API input validation prevents hackers from submitting malicious API requests, while output management protects against data loss by ensuring that the API doesn’t leak sensitive data.
Following are key suggestions for an input and output checklist for improved API security:
API security testing should be continuous—not just performed at initial deployment—because APIs are dynamic and often undergo updates or receive new features. In addition, the threat landscape also evolves, with attackers constantly developing new techniques.
Following are key suggestions for an API security testing checklist:
API monitoring is critical because it helps detect threats in real time and builds a baseline of “normal” activity, which is necessary for identifying anomalies. Continuous monitoring allows security teams to quickly spot unusual patterns, such as spikes in traffic, repeated failed logins, or abnormal usage of endpoints—often signs of attacks.
An API monitoring checklist should include the following:
The Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) both publish best practices for cybersecurity.
Because of the move to API-first application design and the proliferation of APIs, a comprehensive web application and API protection (WAAP) solution is the strongest defense for API estates. A WAAP provides holistic security and integrates into a single solution a web application firewall (WAF), API discovery and protection services, DDoS mitigation, and bot management.
Key benefits of WAAP include:
F5 offers API security as part of its Web Application and API Protection (WAAP) solutions, which secure APIs across complex hybrid and multicloud fabric environments, reducing complexity while improving operational efficiencies. F5’s WAAP solutions deliver a comprehensive approach to protecting APIs throughout their full lifecycle, from the build and test phases through their release, operations, and monitoring.
F5’s WAAP solutions mitigate risks and improve digital resiliency by continuously defending critical business logic that supports web apps and APIs. They offer universal API visibility by dynamically discovering, continuously monitoring, and detecting threats, while safeguarding API endpoints with critical control and enforcement mechanisms. F5’s WAAP solutions can be deployed in any environment, including on-premises, in the cloud, or as-a-service.