Common API Vulnerabilities and How to Secure Them

Application programming interfaces or APIs are an essential part of any business. It makes the transfer of information between systems easy, convenient, and possible. For instance, when you log into your Facebook account, your system is using a ton of APIs to process your login credentials and verify that you are the user for the account. But APIs can be vulnerable to attacks, though. Here are some common API problems and how to get around them.

Data Breaches

API security is important to any business. That’s because most businesses deal with sensitive data. The interface they use must be capable of preventing privacy breaches. That’s where API management software comes in. With API management solutions, your business can protect your APIs better. 

Man-in-the-Middle

To deal with this cyberattack, upgrading to a safer HTTPS protocol is a must. If you pull this off, then your connection will be secured and encrypted. That way, you won’t have to worry that the connection between your server and the computers of your clients will be exposed.

CSRF Attack

This is a cross-site forgery attack wherein the hacker transfers money or changes your customer’s email address. They do this in an authenticated web application, with the user being none the wiser. The server-generated tokens should be embedded in HTML as hidden fields to prevent this attack. Also, they need to be sent back to the server with every request. That’s one way for the server to check and confirm if the request is coming from the real user.

XSS Attack

This is another cross-site scripting attack. The malicious script is injected into the application, so the user reveals their session cookies. That’s dangerous since that data can be used by hackers to target the user and their information. Validating the user data is one way to fix the problem.

SQL Injection

If the user inputs a SQL statement instead of the valid, accurate, and correct data, then that could get the statement eliminated from the database. There are ORM tools that you can use to counter this attack.

Distributed Denial of Services

The distributed denial-of-service or DDoS attack disrupts the normal traffic of a targeted service or server. It does this by directing a ton of internet traffic to the target with the aim to overwhelm it. The same could be done to the surrounding infrastructure of the unit to make sure they compromise system operations.

Securing APIs

You can use technology to let your customers manage the data critical to their business. Another way to strengthen API security is to install the right platform. That’s an excellent option to consider. Given the way API security is now even more important than ever, you’ll want to invest in the right options and technology.

Firewall Optimizations

Don’t forget about your firewall. Improving the settings of your firewall will allow you to manage your APIs with greater ease. You’ll want to check if your firewall is already updated, too. Consider how a firewall impacts your API workloads, so you can decide which option works for you.