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The Growing Threat of API Attacks and the Need for Advanced Protection

Eric Schwake
Jul 30, 2024

APIs are increasingly becoming the target of choice for attackers. According to the key findings stated in the 2024 Gartner® Market Guide for API Protection, "APIs — especially shadow and dormant ones — are causing data breaches among organizations that, on average, exceed the magnitude of other breaches. Many of these breaches can be attributed to access control misconfigurations."* Unofficial "shadow" APIs created without proper processes and "dormant" APIs left over from old projects are especially at risk. These unmanaged APIs are like ticking time bombs because they often lack security measures and visibility, making them vulnerable to exploitation. If these APIs are breached, it can lead to serious financial losses, damage to reputation, and potential regulatory penalties. The breaches can expose sensitive data such as personal information, financial details, and intellectual property, which can be exploited for malicious purposes.

Gartner's report also emphasizes that "Security leaders require additional security capabilities to protect their APIs beyond basic, but necessary, security policy enforcement such as rate limiting, token validation, session management, and transport security — especially in industry verticals with high-security requirements."* While basic security measures such as rate limiting, token validation, and session management are essential for API security, they are insufficient to protect against sophisticated attacks targeting APIs today. Attackers continually develop new techniques to exploit API vulnerabilities, and traditional security measures often struggle to detect and prevent these attacks. This is especially true in high-security industries like finance, healthcare, and government, where a breach can have catastrophic consequences.

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At Salt Security, we recognize the critical importance of API discovery and protection. Our API Protection Platform is designed to illuminate the hidden areas of your API ecosystem, revealing shadow and inactive APIs. By gaining visibility into all your APIs, you can take proactive measures to secure them, reducing the risk of damaging breaches. Our platform goes beyond basic security measures by utilizing AI and machine learning to analyze API traffic patterns, identify anomalies, and block malicious activity in real-time. We offer comprehensive protection against various API threats, including OWASP Top 10 risks, business logic attacks, and zero-day vulnerabilities. With Salt Security, you can confidently safeguard your APIs and the sensitive data they handle, even in the face of the most advanced attacks.

If you would like to learn more about Salt and how we can help you on your API Security journey through discovery, posture management and run time threat protection, please contact us, schedule a demo, or check out our website.

*Gartner, Market Guide for API Protection, Dionisio Zumerle, Aaron Lord, et al., 29 May 2024 GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

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