Recent events have led to people questioning how safe their data is online. Who is seeing their data? How is it being used? Who is using it, and why? Today, many businesses and service providers have moved online. Therefore most people have sensitive information such as their locations, bank details, passwords, and much more information online. Most of the websites save this information so that people don’t have to refill it all the time, which wasn’t an issue until the Cambridge Analytica incident.
Now, people are not so sure if their information is in safe hands and if it is, how can they be sure?
Online security is not a new discussion. The truth is that many of the security issues that have been discovered are related to the use of APIs. API security is a conversation that most companies have now because governments are attempting to hold people accountable by implementing data protection laws. However, before going through possible solutions, let’s discuss the current vulnerabilities associated with API.
• Operating System/network/drivers – APIs run on different operating systems and networks, and some of them might have issues such as; buffering, overruns, sockets flooding, and DOS attacks.
• Application Layers – APIs are usually deployed in servers that might have hosting application issues such as security misconfigurations, message parsing, and session hijacking.
• Operational issues with the API itself – A malfunctioning API can lead to exposure of sensitive data, injection attacks, and incomplete access control.
The above security vulnerabilities can be simplified into five significant categories where consumers need the most protection. These areas include;
• Visibility
• Access control
• Traffic management
• Threat prevention
• Data security
So now the question is, where do people start fixing the problem? It is essential to keep in mind that API security is just now becoming a serious conversation. Therefore, the solutions listed below are bound to improve in the future.
1. API gateways – gateways allow consumers access to back end services without necessarily sharing information such as passwords. The goal here is to focus on visibility and access control. Users must understand how companies are using their APIs and who can access and use their data.
2. Internet Application Firewalls – companies must filter and monitor HTTP traffic on their APIs using traditional Web Application Firewalls.
3. First-generation bot mitigation vendors – about 90%of traffic on consumer environments is automated. This means that some APIs are prone to automated attacks. These attacks can be prevented by using Javascript and SDKs to collect data on possible attacks.
4. General API security – A lot of startups are involved in the business of API software. All companies must be educated and given protective measures to avoid data exposure and leakage.
There is no doubt that API security has a long way to go. The good news is that people are now talking about it and implementing solutions. Many API security firms are coming up, and the good news is that they are inventing new and better solutions every day.
