Five Ways to Secure Your APIs Against Cyberattacks

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are the backbone of modern digital services, enabling seamless integration between applications, platforms, and systems. From financial services to healthcare platforms and e-commerce applications, APIs power the data exchange that makes today’s digital world efficient and interconnected. However, as the use of APIs has increased, so too have the security risks associated with them.?

The growing attack surface presented by APIs has made them an attractive target for cybercriminals. According to research by Imperva, API-related attacks have surged in recent years, costing organizations up to $87 billion annually. In this article, we will explore why API security has become a critical concern, examine common attack vectors, and provide strategies to secure APIs effectively.?

Common API Attack Vectors

APIs present unique security challenges because they often expose application logic, data, and services directly to the internet. This direct exposure creates a range of potential entry points for attackers. Below we list some of these common attack vectors, so you can better prioritize security efforts and proactively mitigate risks before they lead to breaches.

• Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA): Attackers exploit APIs that do not properly enforce object-level access controls. By manipulating object IDs in API requests, attackers can access unauthorized data, such as user profiles or confidential records.
• Broken User Authentication: APIs that fail to properly validate user identities can be exploited by attackers to gain unauthorized access. Common issues include weak password policies, lack of multi-factor authentication, and insecure token management.
• Excessive Data Exposure: APIs that return more data than necessary increase the risk of sensitive information leakage. Attackers can exploit poorly configured endpoints to access internal data structures or exposed metadata.
• Lack of Rate Limiting and Throttling: Without proper rate limiting, APIs are vulnerable to brute-force attacks and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Attackers can flood APIs with traffic or credential stuffing attempts to overwhelm systems or compromise accounts.
• Injection Attacks: APIs that fail to validate input data are susceptible to injection attacks, such as SQL injection or command injection. These attacks can lead to data theft, corruption, or unauthorized command execution.
• Insecure Endpoints: APIs with exposed or poorly secured endpoints give attackers a surface to probe and exploit. Misconfigurations, unnecessary open endpoints, and lack of encryption can make APIs easy targets.

Understanding these common attack vectors is the first step in developing robust API security strategies. The next section will explore practical methods to defend against these threats and secure API infrastructures effectively.

Strategies to Secure APIs

With API-related attacks surging and costing businesses billions annually, securing APIs is no longer optional—it’s critical. Here are five key strategies you can start implementing today to strengthen your API security posture:

Strong Authentication: Organizations should employ strong authentication methods like OAuth 2.0 and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent unauthorized access to APIs. Enforcing role-based access controls (RBAC) ensures users only access the specific data and functionalities necessary for their roles, significantly reducing potential attack surfaces.

Secure Coding Practices: API security starts at the development stage. Organizations should implement secure coding practices through solutions like DevSecOps, and strategies like rigorous input validation and sanitization, to prevent injection attacks such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). Developers should also avoid exposing internal data structures or sensitive information and design APIs that return only the minimal data required for the client application’s functionality, significantly reducing the risk of data leakage.?

Rate Limiting: APIs are vulnerable to abuse through excessive requests or automated attacks, such as brute-force or denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Implementing rate limiting and throttling controls helps manage the number of requests APIs can handle within a specified timeframe. These mechanisms effectively prevent attackers from overwhelming resources, ensuring APIs remain available and operational.

Regular Testing: Regular and systematic security testing is crucial to maintaining strong API defenses. Organizations should continuously perform penetration testing and vulnerability assessments to proactively identify and address security weaknesses. Integrating these tests into the continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline ensures vulnerabilities are identified early, reducing the time and cost associated with remediation.

API Gateways: API gateways serve as a centralized management point for all API interactions, enforcing consistent security policies across API endpoints. Gateways can perform authentication, authorization, traffic management, and threat protection. Additionally, they provide visibility into API usage through detailed monitoring and logging, helping detect and respond to suspicious activities promptly and effectively.

By implementing these strategies, organizations can significantly reduce their API attack surface and mitigate the risks associated with common vulnerabilities. The final section will summarize the key takeaways and emphasize the importance of ongoing API security management.

Real-World Examples of API Breaches

Understanding the consequences of API vulnerabilities is crucial. The following real-world breaches highlight the serious impact API attacks can have on organizations and their customers:

• T-Mobile API Breach (2023): In 2023 T-Mobile experienced a significant data breach when attackers exploited an API vulnerability, exposing the personal data of over 37 million customers. The stolen data included names, emails, phone numbers, and dates of birth, posing a substantial risk of identity theft and fraud.
• LinkedIn API Scraping (2021): Attackers used LinkedIn’s API to scrape data from over 700 million users. Although passwords were not exposed, the leaked information included full names, email addresses, and phone numbers, making users vulnerable to phishing and social engineering attacks.
• ?Panera Bread API Exposure (2018): Panera Bread suffered a data breach in 2018 when an unsecured API endpoint left millions of customer records exposed. The compromised data included names, email addresses, home addresses, and the last four digits of credit card numbers, highlighting the risks of poorly secured API endpoints.

These incidents demonstrate the importance of rigorous API security practices. Organizations must remain proactive in identifying and mitigating API vulnerabilities to safeguard sensitive data and maintain customer trust.

How TrollEye Security Can Help

API security is no longer optional—it’s a critical requirement for any organization operating in today’s landscape. As seen in real-world breaches, the risks of unsecured APIs are substantial, leading to data loss, financial repercussions, and reputational damage.

Through our Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) offering we provide your team with the information and tools needed to mitigate API vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them. With our solution, you can have your API endpoints tested for weaknesses up to once a week, so vulnerabilities are continuously identified and delivered to your security team for remediation. Additionally, our experts will regularly meet with your security team to provide remediation guidance and recommend changes to improve your processes, so your organization is as secure as it can be.

By partnering with TrollEye Security, organizations gain proactive defense strategies, expert guidance, and the tools needed to secure their API infrastructure. Don’t wait for an attack to expose vulnerabilities—fortify your API defenses today.