API Security
Practices and technologies for protecting APIs from threats including unauthorised access, data breaches, and abuse.
In-Depth Explanation
API security encompasses the practices, technologies, and policies for protecting APIs from threats. As APIs expose critical functionality and data, they are prime targets for attackers.
Security concerns:
- Authentication: Verifying identity
- Authorisation: Verifying permissions
- Data protection: Encryption, privacy
- Rate limiting: Preventing abuse
- Input validation: Preventing injection
- Logging/monitoring: Detecting attacks
Authentication methods:
- API keys (simple but limited)
- OAuth 2.0 (industry standard)
- JWT tokens (stateless auth)
- mTLS (mutual TLS certificates)
OWASP API Security Top 10:
- Broken Object Level Authorisation
- Broken Authentication
- Broken Object Property Level Authorisation
- Unrestricted Resource Consumption
- Broken Function Level Authorisation
- Server Side Request Forgery
- Security Misconfiguration
- Lack of Protection from Automated Threats
- Improper Asset Management
- Unsafe Consumption of APIs
Business Context
API security is critical as APIs expose sensitive data and functionality. Breaches can result in data theft, financial loss, and regulatory penalties.
How Clever Ops Uses This
We implement comprehensive API security for Australian businesses, protecting against common threats while enabling legitimate access.
Example Use Case
"Securing a payments API: OAuth 2.0 authentication, role-based access control, input validation, rate limiting, encrypted transport, and comprehensive logging."