API security

API security is the practice of protecting application programming interfaces (APIs) from vulnerabilities, threats, and unauthorized access to ensure the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data and services.

Imagine an API as a digital doorway between different software applications. It allows them to exchange data and functionality securely. Securing these “doorways” is critical to heading off breaches and protecting data.

• API security protects the digital interfaces between software applications from attacks that could compromise data or disrupt services.
• Common API security risks include broken authorization, authentication vulnerabilities and resource consumption issues.
• Implementing strong authentication and authorization mechanisms is crucial for securing APIs against unauthorized access and data breaches.

Both web application and API security (WAAP) are crucial for protecting your organization's data and systems, but they address vulnerabilities from different angles. 

Here's a breakdown of the key differences:

Focus

• API security: Focuses on securing application programming interfaces. Because APIs act as intermediaries, allowing different applications to exchange data and functionality, API security aims to protect these data transmissions from unauthorized access, manipulation, or disruption.
• Web application security: Focuses on securing traditional web applications that users interact with directly through a web browser. This includes protecting against vulnerabilities in the application code, user input validation, and session management to prevent attacks like cross-site scripting (XSS) or structured query language (SQL) injection.

Attack surface

• API security: Deals with a broader attack surface due to the increased use of microservices architectures. APIs connect various services within an application or even across different organizations. This creates more potential entry points for attackers to exploit.
• Web application security: Primarily focuses on the attack surface presented by the web application itself. While web applications might leverage APIs internally, the focus is on vulnerabilities within the user-facing application code.

Communication channels

• API security: Communication often happens behind the scenes, machine-to-machine, using protocols like HTTP or REST. Security measures must be implemented at the code level to validate data and enforce access controls.
• Web application security: Communication is primarily human-to-machine, with users interacting through a web browser. Security measures often involve user input validation, session management, and preventing vulnerabilities that hackers might exploit through user interaction.

Here are 10 API security risks, according to the Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) API Security Top 10 for 2023:

1. Broken object-level authorization (BOLA): This occurs when an API grants access to a resource based solely on the presence of an object identifier in the request without properly verifying that the user has permission to access that specific resource. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to access or modify data they should not be authorized to see.
2. Broken user authentication (BUA): This happens when an API's authentication mechanisms are weak or improperly implemented. This could allow attackers to guess or steal credentials, exploit vulnerabilities in the authentication process, or bypass authentication altogether.
3. Broken object property-level authorization (BOPLA): This is a specific type of BOLA that occurs when an API grants access to specific properties of an object without properly verifying that the user has permission to access those properties. For example, an API might allow a user to read a customer's name but not their address. An attacker could exploit BOPLA to access sensitive data they should not be authorized to see.
4. Unrestricted resource consumption: This arises when an API does not properly limit the resources (such as CPU, memory, or network bandwidth) a user can consume. Attackers could launch denial-of-service (DoS) attacks that overwhelm the API and make it unavailable to legitimate users.
5. Broken function-level authorization (BFLA): This occurs when an API grants access to a function based solely on the user's role or permissions without properly verifying that the user is authorized to perform that specific function. An attacker could exploit BFLA to perform actions such as deleting data or creating new users.
6. Unrestricted access to sensitive business flows: This exists when an API exposes sensitive business flows (such as payment processing or order fulfillment) without proper access controls. This could allow attackers to tamper with these flows or steal sensitive data.
7. Server-side request forgery (SSRF): This occurs when an API allows a user to provide a URL that the API will then fetch on the user's behalf. If the API does not properly validate the URL, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to trick the API into fetching a malicious URL. This could allow the attacker to steal data, launch DoS attacks, or gain unauthorized access to internal systems.
8. Security misconfiguration: This happens when an API is not configured securely. This could include using weak passwords, failing to enable essential security features, or leaving unnecessary services or features enabled.
9. Improper inventory management: This occurs when an organization does not have a complete and accurate inventory of all its APIs. This can make it difficult to identify and secure all APIs exposed to the internet.
10. Unsafe consumption of APIs: This arises when an application fails to properly validate, filter, or sanitize the data it receives from external APIs. This could allow attackers to inject malicious code into the application or steal sensitive data.

Within the general realm of APIs, there are multiple methods to link software platforms. Each architecture has its own strengths and vulnerabilities. Here is a more detailed look at each one. 

SOAP API security

While widely used, simple object access protocol (SOAP) APIs require robust security to prevent data breaches and unauthorized access. Like any communication channel, they are susceptible to attacks like XML injection or man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks if left unsecured.

To safeguard your SOAP APIs, implement WS-Security protocols for message encryption and authentication. Encrypt communication using HTTPS and enforce strict access controls. Regularly update SOAP software and monitor activity for suspicious behavior. 

Employing these measures can ensure the secure exchange of data between your applications and mitigate the risks associated with SOAP API vulnerabilities.

REST API security

Representational state transfer (REST) APIs, a popular web service design, organize data and functionality as resources accessed through URLs. Also known as RESTful APIs, they leverage standard HTTP verbs and formats for clear communication between applications. This standardized approach fosters scalability, flexibility, and ease of development.

However, security remains paramount. In addition to REST APIs, tech teams need to keep a watchful eye out over API gateways. 

These interfaces act as a central hub for API traffic, enforcing access controls, managing traffic flow, and implementing security features like throttling and API key management. This centralized approach simplifies security measures and strengthens the overall API security posture. 

Additionally, API management, a broader concept encompassing the entire API lifecycle, uses tools to monitor usage, identify suspicious activity, and further enhance security.

GraphQL API security

GraphQL presents a compelling alternative to traditional RESTful APIs. Unlike REST, which requires multiple specific requests to gather complex data, GraphQL uses a single, flexible query language. This allows clients to pinpoint exactly the data they need, significantly reducing unnecessary data transfer and boosting performance. This streamlined approach offers advantages in efficiency and user experience.

However, the same flexibility that fuels GraphQL's power introduces unique security considerations. Because a single GraphQL query can potentially access a vast range of data, robust security measures are essential. To mitigate these risks, organizations should prioritize techniques like strong authentication and authorization to ensure that only authorized users can access specific data. Rigorous input validation is crucial to prevent malicious code injection attempts, while limiting query complexity safeguards against denial-of-service attacks and excessive resource consumption.

Additionally, it is recommended to carefully consider introspection features. Disabling them in production environments can prevent unauthorized individuals from exploring the API schema and uncovering potential vulnerabilities.

APIs are beneficial tools. However, to get the most out of them, companies must install and implement them properly. Consider the following API security best practices to minimize pending threats: 

1. Implement strong authentication and authorization: Ensure only authorized users and applications can access specific API resources using robust mechanisms like Auth or API keys.
2. Validate and sanitize all user input: Rigorously validate all data received through the API to prevent injection attacks like SQL injection or XSS.
3. Encrypt data at rest and in transit: Protect sensitive data by encrypting it both when stored (data at rest) and during transmission between applications (data in transit). Use strong encryption algorithms and secure key management practices.
4. Secure your API gateways: If you use API gateways, ensure they are properly configured and secured. This includes enforcing access controls, monitoring activity, and keeping gateway software updated.
5. Rate limiting and DoS mitigation: Implement rate-limiting techniques to prevent denial-of-service attacks by restricting the number of requests an application can make within a specific timeframe.
6. Monitor API activity and log events: Closely monitor API activity to identify suspicious behavior or potential attacks. Implement logging to track API calls, diagnose security incidents, and identify usage patterns.
7. Regularly update and patch API software: Keep all software components related to your APIs, including libraries and frameworks, up to date with the latest security patches to address known vulnerabilities.
8. Use secure coding practices: Developers should follow secure coding practices to minimize the risk of introducing vulnerabilities into the API code itself. This includes proper input validation, error handling, and secure data handling techniques.
9. Document your API security practices: A low-hanging API security best practice you can quickly implement is clearly documenting your API security policies and procedures. This includes authentication protocols, access control mechanisms, and incident response plans.
10. Educate developers and users: Train developers on secure coding practices for APIs and educate users on how to install and implement API protection software.

Authentication and authorization are pillar best practices for API security, ensuring only the right users and applications can access specific resources. Here's how companies can implement them, along with common authentication strategies:

Implementation approaches

• API gateway: Centralize authentication and authorization logic within an API gateway. This allows for consistent enforcement across all APIs and simplifies management.
• Backend integration: Integrate authentication and authorization mechanisms directly within the backend services accessed by the API. This approach offers more granular control but requires implementation within each service.

Common authentication strategies

• API keys: These are unique identifiers issued to authorized users or applications for API access. They are simple to implement but require careful management to prevent unauthorized use.
• OAuth: This is an open-standard authorization framework that allows users to grant access to their data on one service (e.g., Google) to another application (e.g., your API) without sharing their credentials directly. OAuth is more secure than API keys but can be more complex to set up.
• OpenID Connect (OIDC): This is an identity layer on top of OAuth that simplifies user login and reduces complexity for developers. It is often used in conjunction with OAuth.
• Basic authentication: This is a simple approach that transmits username and password credentials directly within the API request. It is considered insecure due to the lack of encryption and is generally best avoided for sensitive APIs.
• Mutual TLS (mTLS): This protocol uses digital certificates for both client and server authentication, providing strong mutual trust and encryption. It is ideal for high-security APIs.

Selecting the most suitable authentication strategy hinges on several key factors. 

Security requirements are paramount. Highly sensitive APIs might necessitate robust mechanisms like mutual TLS, while simpler APIs could function with API keys. 

The desired level of control also plays a role. Centralized management via an API gateway might favor OAuth or OpenID Connect, while backend integration allows for more granular control but requires implementation within each service.

Finally, consider your user base and application integrations. API keys might be sufficient for internal applications, but external users might require a more standardized approach like OAuth. 

In a world where we depend on software connectivity to complete daily work-life functions, API security is paramount. Fortunately, the best practices, risks, and architectural information within this glossary provide a solid foundation on the topic.

As you move forward, you can protect your company’s digital assets without sacrificing the functionality of the platforms you use every day. Try API Protection free from Barracuda today and discover what working with peace of mind feels like.