What is the Significance of API Security?

According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the cost of cybercrimes can presumably reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Thus, API security plays a pivotal role in modern web application security.

Poor code and security measures make it easy for bad actors to exploit APIs through malicious requests. An exposed, hacked, or compromised API puts personal, financial, and other sensitive data at risk. So organizations must strengthen their API security methodologies.

Businesses must regularly test APIs using best security practices to identify vulnerabilities and protect sensitive software functions.

API Security Fundamentals

Since API provides direct access to an extensive database, there's an increase in API-related security threats. However, the massive volume of API deployed make security controls challenging for the IT team.

The inability to incorporate cloud and web API security practices may also lead to vulnerable APIs. Bad actors can leverage various sophisticated techniques to abuse API security.

Here're some common API security attacks that businesses encounter across various areas:

• DDoS attacks

• Pagination attacks

• Accidental key exposure

• Insecure internal endpoints

• Insecure API key generation

• Improper assets management

• Insufficient logging & monitoring

• Broken function-level authorization

Defense-in-Depth Approach for API Security

Defense-in-depth (DiD) technique leverages multiple defensive measures to identify and mitigate a wide range of threats effectively. Its primary goal is to delay the advance of an attack as API vulnerabilities arise. This API security approach also enables organizations to scale their systems, networks, and users.

An effective DiD strategy needs easy-to-deploy layered and integrated security practices for a company's system. As a successful cyberattack can be too destructive, a multi-layered DiD approach can eliminate all the odds of threat penetrations. It means another program protects the API when the first security regulation fails.

Thus, the Defense-in-depth AIP security strategy forms various barriers to mitigate online threats cascading across the network.

Security Measures Used in Defense-in-depth

Defense-in-depth practices differ based on all organizational goals and infrastructure. Here're the critical principles of the DiD security approach.

Physical Controls

With physical controls, companies can stop unauthorized users from accessing physical documents, servers, and equipment. Some common physical controls are biometric scanners, video surveillance, and alarms.

Network Segmentation

Organizations can separate wireless networks for internal and external users with network segmentation. It restricts the exposure of internal systems and data to contractors, vendors, and other third-party users. Besides, this strategy helps the IT team prevent insider threats and the spread of malware while following data regulations.

Integrate Firewall and Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPPs)

Businesses can leverage multiple types of firewalls where appropriate to enable system isolation and prevent lateral attacks. Further, EPPs integration secures your endpoints by limiting system access.

Transport Layer Security

Transport Layer Security (TLS) is the most standard form of protection in any web API deployment. TLS is an encryption system that authenticates and verifies the data in transit between the users and API. Without a TLS certificate, malicious actors could intercept and read sensitive data, such as API credentials.

Least Privilege

Controlling API access is as crucial as controlling human users. Under this security mechanism, organizations provide limited privileges to a user. It means users receive authorizations only for the resources and data they need to perform their operational tasks.

Further, managing user permissions reduces every user's exposure to the sensitive areas of a network. For instance, only the finance department gets access to bookkeeping software. So if attackers get access to the network, the least-privilege method eliminates the chances of a data breach or disrupting operations.

What is Zero Trust Security Framework?

Zero Trust or Zero Trust security model focuses on trusting nobody and nothing implicitly. Unless verified, no inside or outside user can access an organization's applications and services.

With enterprise infrastructure spread across hybrid, on-premises, and multi-cloud environments, every element requires authentication and permission. A Zero Trust API security network is highly scalable and works across any application network to authenticate actions. Organizations can control unnecessary access and vulnerable permissions with fine granularity by implementing this robust and selective cyber security model.

So Zero Trust continuously verifies human and machine access permissions to all enterprise resources. It's a single solution to prevent both internal and external intrusions.

Zero Trust Methodologies to Secure APIs

The Zero Trust security model is an amalgamation of technologies, procedures, and policies. Security teams can use various Zero Trust principles to identify the user's intent and risks for the APIs.

Let's delve into the best Zero Trust practices for API security.

Constant Monitoring

The core of the Zero Trust architecture framework is a continuous, proactive approach to verify individuals, devices, and services. With its granular security monitoring and responsive access management, businesses get quicker incident detection and support to strengthen API security systems.

Strong Multiple Authentication Mechanisms

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a method to provide system and data access to only authorized individuals. While granting permission to enterprise resources, MFA adds an extra layer of security through different identity verification processes, such as a password and a unique token.

Deploying a Single sign-on (SSO) Tool

An SSO tool offers users a single entry point to multiple applications and software systems with one set of credentials. It also improves user experience.

Rate Limiting

Rate limiting technique restricts network traffic to prevent hackers from overburdening and exploiting the system resources. Usually applied at the backend layer of a hybrid architecture, it protects against denial-of-service attacks.

Micro-segmentation

Micro-segmentation splits the network into smaller zones. This cybersecurity practice provides fine-grained access control policies to individual users and applications. During data violations, it prevents potential lateral exploration of networks by hackers.

Identity and Access Management

With the proper Identity Access Management (IAM) solution, enterprises can protect and restrict users from gaining excessive privileges. It ensures optimal security by granting user-appropriate data access. Thus, businesses can extend their scope of operations without compromising API security.

API Governance

Establishing API governance provides greater scale, security, and speed for API development, deployment, and maintenance. Besides, security and penetration testing should be a critical part of every phase of the SDLC to address potential vulnerabilities in the API infrastructure.

Thus, this API security strategy will help clear the inherent variances between compliance and innovative design.

Case Studies

Successful implementations of defense-in-depth and zero trust in API security.

Network Security Using Defense-in-depth Approach

An organization can use a three-layered defense system by setting up a firewall, an antivirus program, and an Intrusion Protection System. An IPS can identify and mitigate attacks even if cybercriminals exploit the firewall.

Further, the antivirus will secure the system and data from damage if it reaches an end-user computer.

API Management Using Zero Trust's IAM Technique

Using an Identity and Access Management solution, businesses can embed roles and determine API permissions.

Key Differences Between Zero Trust and Defense-in-Depth

Defense-in-depth

The Defense-in-depth approach focuses on multi-layer security defenses, especially from external threats. Bad actors will easily get into the network without a DiD strategy. If one security point of the enterprise network gets compromised, other platforms still stay safe.

pros

• Delays dangerous API security attacks

• Closes security gaps through multiple defense mechanisms

• Removes pressure from individual security elements

Cons

• External security layers are relatively easy to penetrate for sophisticated attackers

• Challenging to coordinate and manage

• Costly maintenance

Zero Trust Network Security

On the other hand, the Zero Trust model requires continuous authentication of devices and users to protect enterprise resources from internal and external threats. It builds secure connections between the network and users' devices by creating safe, encrypted, and private tunnels.

pros

• Easy to deploy and scale

• Single-click access to network applications

• Improves the user experience

• Continuous risk assessment for all user requests

Cons

• The complicated, time-consuming, and costly implementation process

• Requires more and highly-skilled staff for management

Should it be Defense-in-depth or Zero Trust Model?

A Zero Trust framework may use certain DiD security practices, but the two have a massive difference.

The defense-in-depth security method includes the application, endpoint, and network security-related issues. The multiple defense layers contain attackers from progressing to other internal elements within the business network.

On the other hand, the Zero Trust framework follows the trusts nobody strategy. It constantly authenticates every internal and external user within the network perimeters before permitting access to the enterprise's data, service, and resources. The goal is to detect and prevent every potential threat by building comprehensively secure environments.

Undoubtedly, both security practices have merits and demerits. The final decision depends on the individual business's API security goals to mitigate vulnerability and the available budget.

Bottom Line

The APIs could become weak points for malicious actors without an advanced, upgraded security system. Hence, enterprises must look beyond traditional techniques for today's API ecosystem. It's time businesses shift cybersecurity techniques from tick-box compliance to proactive risk management.

Using purpose-built security devices automatically evaluates risks, tracks APIs, and provides data insight to help create a secure enterprise environment.