Implementing a new API (application programming interface) for your online app is a great step. It is exciting for clients who benefit from your application’s integration, third-party developers seeking to integrate with your application, and your profits since you get more users to the platform.
Sadly, new APIs (Application programming interfaces) are also good news for cyber criminals because they offer a way to exploit data on the server.
Here are 10 API security best practices to protect your organization and avoid API attacks. Continue reading!
What is API security?
Before we get too deeply involved with API security, let us first define an API. APIs are a set of definitions and protocols that enable different apps to communicate.
They are an accessible way to obtain and share data across and within companies. An API is all around us. For instance, each time you use a mobile payment or use your smartphone to change the thermostat temperature, you are using it.
The most popular architectures to build an API are SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and REST (Representational State Transfer). SOAP APIs encode data in XML and support web services specifications. A REST API, on the other hand, transfers data through HTTP and doesn’t support web services specifications.
Let’s now define API security. API security refers to the practice of mitigating or preventing attacks on APIs. Successful breaches can be harmful to an app and all its users because hacked API endpoints give access to sensitive data.
6 Best practices for API security
A cyber-attack involves side-stepping the client-side apps (like mobile applications or web applications) in an effort to get private data or disrupt the workings of an app for other users. API security secures the app layer and attends to what may happen if a hacker interacts with the API.
Below are API security top practices to prevent unauthorized access to your web API.
1 – Implement authentication
In the digital world, API authentication is about verifying or proving the identity of the individuals accessing your system.
Even though there are a number of methods of API authentication, below are the most common ones:
• OAuth Authentication
Technically, this approach does both authorization and authentication. It allows apps to communicate with the API server to offer access.
• API keys authentication
An API key is a uniquely generated identifier or access token assigned to every first-time application user to signify the user is known. It is suitable for apps that have many users looking for access.
• HTTP basic authentication
The approach uses a locally obtained username and password and depends on Base64 encoding. It doesn’t need login pages, cookies, and session IDS since it uses the HTTP header itself.
2 – Implement authorization
Authorization is when an entity proves that a user has the right to access information or data on a given server.
Unlike other types of APIs, REST APIs have to authenticate and authorize every request made to the API server.
3 – Encryption
To prevent man-in-the-middle (MITM), each data transfer must be encrypted. Encryption converts your sensitive data into code, making it hard for it to land in the wrong hands.
All exchanges should be ciphered with TLS (Transport Layer Security), the successor to Secure Sockets Layer, SSL, whether it’s one-way encryption or mutual encryption.
Consider using the latest Transport Layer Security versions to block the use of weak cipher suites.
4 – API management (API gateway)
An API gateway is the main medium to control and manage API traffic. Consider utilizing strong getaways to reduce security risks. Solid API gateways would allow businesses to validate traffic and access control and analyze how the APIs are utilized.
5 – Know your compliance requirement
Without a doubt, security is vital for everyone – but is it extremely crucial for organizations with compliance requirements concerns. That’s why the configuration guidance is offered.
6 – Discover API vulnerabilities
To identify vulnerabilities, you must perform rigorous testing. To rectify them easily and quickly, your security teams have to discover API weaknesses in the initial development phase.
With the increasing use of application programming interfaces, API attacks are more and more common. It is essential to test, manage, and monitor the security of your web APIs. The practice usually ensures the safety of your software and data and prevents API silos.
