The Ultimate Guide To The 7 Best API Security Tools

API Security Tools are specialized software solutions designed to protect Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) from security threats and vulnerabilities. APIs are integral to modern applications, allowing different systems, services, and applications to communicate and share data. APIs are often publicly exposed to allow integration with external services, they are prime targets for cyberattacks, including data breaches, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, and unauthorized access.

API security tools are used to safeguard APIs by ensuring that data is transmitted securely, only authorized users can access the API, and vulnerabilities are detected and mitigated before they can be exploited by malicious actors.

Salt

Salt Security is the only AI-infused API Security Solution for the entire API lifecycle – from API discovery to posture management to threat protection.

• Salt provides intelligent aggregation and consolidation of your API inventory, with insights into the security posture of your APIs
• Salt tracks users over days, weeks, and months to understand, identify, and prevent today’s drawn-out API attacks
• Salt leverages insights from bad actors’ minor successes in runtime to craft remediation insights
• Collect two-way API data, including requests, responses, and numerous behavioral attributes, studying your API activity over extended periods

Blackduck

Black Duck offers tools and solutions to help your security and development teams achieve an effective API security testing program.

• Automatically detect endpoints exposed by your application and perform continuous testing
• Automatically test the entire attack surface
• Pinpoint flaws in code and data with visual dataflow map
• Build API security controls and policy

Pynt

Pynt’s dynamic API security testing product enables developers and testers to run security tests and discover and mitigate security vulnerabilities throughout the development lifecycle.

• Context aware testing, alerting pre-production
• Zero-false positives, alerts on proven threats only
• Identifying API risks and gaps from dev to prod, including full API discovery and classification
• Fast and accurate results within minutes
• Shift left, frictionless testing integrated into your 
CI/CD Environment

Postman

Postman stands out as the best API platform today, thanks to its unmatched features such as workspaces, built-in security and governance, automated testing, and seamless integrations with leading cloud providers and source code management tools.

• Poor security hygiene
• Authentication and authorization vulnerabilities
• Lack of read and write granularity
• Failure to implement quotas and throttling
• Improperly set or missing HTTP headers
• Failure to perform input validation, sanitization, and encoding at the method level
• Inaccurate inventory and documentation
• Inadequate logging and monitoring practices

Akamai

Akamai API Security enables organizations to gain full visibility into their entire API estate with continuous detection and real-time analysis.

• Find and inventory all your APIs –  including shadow, zombie, and rogue APIs – with continuous discovery and monitoring
• Audit for the API vulnerabilities and misconfigurations that attackers target, including all the OWASP API Top 10
• Use contextual insights to identify risks such as data leakage, suspicious behavior, malicious bots, and API attacks

Acunetix

Acunetix is an end-to-end web security scanner that offers a 360 view of an organization’s security. Allowing you to take control of the security of all you web applications, web services, and APIs to ensure long-term protection. Acunetix’s scanning engine is globally known and trusted for its unbeatable speed and precision.

• Cover your bases with zero-configuration set up, API management system integration, and network API discovery
• Combining API discovery with Invicti’s best-in-class security solutions helps you shrink your tech stack and streamline security
• With an accurate and reliable API discovery and testing engine at your fingertips, you can secure more of your threat landscape than before

Akto

Akto is the world’s best Open Source API security platform with the largest API Security test library that’s growing everyday.

• API Discovery
• Sensitive Data and PII Exposure
• API Security Testing in CI/CD
• Continuous API Security Posture Management
• Deep Authentication & Authorization Testing
• Monitor new APIs or changes in APIs
• Shift Left API Security Platform in DevSecOps
• Largest API Security Test Library Database

The API Security Process

The API Security Process refers to a structured approach to ensuring the protection of APIs from security threats, vulnerabilities, and attacks.

1. API Design & Planning

Goal: Establish a secure foundation for the API by considering security in the early stages of development.

Best Practices:

Threat Modeling: Identify potential security threats and attack vectors early in the design process. Common threats include unauthorized access, data manipulation, and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.

Data Security Considerations: Determine how sensitive data (e.g., personal information, payment details) will be handled and protected.

• Data Minimization: Limit the amount of sensitive data exposed through the API.
• Encryption: Define encryption mechanisms for data at rest and in transit.

2. API Development & Implementation

Goal: Secure the API during its development and implementation phases, integrating security measures into the development lifecycle.

Best Practices:

Secure Coding Practices: Follow best practices to prevent common vulnerabilities (e.g., SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting, etc.).

• Use input validation to filter out malicious input.
• Sanitize output to prevent injection attacks (like XSS).
• Implement parameterized queries to avoid SQL Injection.

Input Validation: Ensure that all data entering the API is validated for type, format, and length.

• Implement Whitelisting (acceptable values) rather than blacklisting (block known bad inputs).

Rate Limiting & Throttling: Implement rate limiting to restrict the number of requests per user or IP address to mitigate brute-force attacks and DDoS attacks.

API Gateway & Firewall Setup: Integrate an API gateway to manage traffic and apply additional security measures such as IP whitelisting, traffic filtering, and monitoring.

• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to monitor and block malicious API requests.

Secure Dependencies: Ensure that third-party libraries and services used in the API are secure, updated, and free from known vulnerabilities.

3. API Testing & Vulnerability Assessment

Goal: Test the API for security vulnerabilities and ensure that it is functioning as expected, securely.

Best Practices:

Static Application Security Testing (SAST): Analyze the API’s source code and configuration files to identify security flaws.

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST): Test the running API to simulate real-world attacks and identify vulnerabilities such as authentication flaws or insecure data transmission.

Penetration Testing: Conduct penetration testing (pen testing) on the API to simulate an attack and identify weaknesses that automated tools may miss.

Security Testing Automation: Integrate security tests into the CI/CD pipeline to automate security testing as part of the API deployment process.

4. API Deployment & Monitoring

Goal: Ensure the API is securely deployed and continuously monitored for security incidents after launch.

Best Practices:

Environment Segregation: Use separate environments (e.g., development, staging, production) with appropriate access control and configurations for each environment.

API Gateway Management: Use an API gateway to manage API traffic, enforce security policies, and provide logging.

• Rate Limiting: Enforce rate limiting at the gateway to prevent misuse or abuse of the API.
• Access Control: Ensure that only authorized users or applications can interact with the API.

Real-Time Monitoring & Logging: Continuously monitor API traffic to detect unusual patterns or potential security breaches.

• Enable logging for every API request, capturing details like user identity, request parameters, and response data.

Anomaly Detection: Implement anomaly detection to detect patterns of suspicious activity, such as high volumes of requests from a single IP or unusually timed API calls.

5. API Incident Response & Remediation

Goal: Establish a response plan to deal with any security incidents that occur, and quickly mitigate any discovered vulnerabilities.

Best Practices:

Incident Response Plan: Have a documented and tested plan in place for responding to API security breaches or incidents.

• Incident identification, containment, and analysis.
• Steps for communicating with stakeholders and users.
• Forensics to understand the root cause of the breach.

Patch Management: Regularly update and patch the API to fix known vulnerabilities.

Zero-Day Vulnerability Handling: Have a plan to respond to zero-day vulnerabilities (vulnerabilities that are discovered before a patch is available).

Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits of your API to ensure compliance with security best practices and identify any gaps.

• Engage external security experts to perform periodi. c red teaming or penetration testing exercises.

6. API Deprecation & Retirement

Goal: Securely deprecate older versions of APIs and remove them from production when they are no longer needed.

Best Practices:

API Versioning: Use versioning to manage breaking changes while ensuring backward compatibility.

Secure API Deprecation: When an API version is deprecated, notify users well in advance and provide a secure migration path.

• Disable deprecated APIs securely by using access controls and ensuring they can no longer be accessed by clients once they are retired.

Data Migration: Ensure that any critical data used by deprecated APIs is securely migrated or archived.

7. Ongoing Security & Compliance Management

Goal: Continuously ensure that your API complies with security standards and regulations and that it remains resilient against emerging threats.

Best Practices:

Compliance Monitoring: Ensure that your API complies with regulatory standards such as GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and others.

Security Patches: Stay up to date on new vulnerabilities in the ecosystem (e.g., zero-days, CVEs) and apply patches to your API and underlying systems promptly.

Security Best Practices: Continuously educate developers on security best practices and keep the security team engaged in the API development lifecycle.

Penetration Testing: Perform regular penetration tests and vulnerability scans to stay ahead of potential exploits.

The API Security Process is a continuous lifecycle that spans across design, implementation, deployment, monitoring, and incident response.

API Security Tools Best Practices

Securing APIs is a critical component of modern application security. APIs often provide the gateway through which external clients interact with your application, making them a prime target for cyberattacks.

1. Implement Strong Authentication and Authorization

Best Practice: Use Robust Authentication & Authorization Mechanisms

• OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect: Implement OAuth 2.0 or OpenID Connect for secure authentication and authorization.
• API Keys: Use API keys for identifying the calling service or user, but never use them as the sole method of authentication.
• JWT (JSON Web Tokens): JWTs can be used for secure token-based authentication.
• Multi-factor Authentication (MFA): When feasible, enforce MFA for accessing APIs, particularly for users with sensitive data access.

2. Enforce Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Best Practice: Define and Enforce Proper Permissions Based on User Roles

• Ensure that users and applications can only access the API endpoints they are authorized to use based on their roles.
• Implement least privilege access – only grant permissions necessary for the task at hand.
• Use granular access control where users are assigned specific roles that dictate what data and actions they can access.

3. Secure API Traffic with Encryption

Best Practice: Use TLS/SSL for All API Communication

• Ensure all data transmitted between clients and servers is encrypted using TLS (Transport Layer Security). Enforce HTTPS to prevent man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks and eavesdropping.
• Always use strong cipher suites and up-to-date TLS versions (e.g., TLS 1.2 or TLS 1.3).
• Ensure API keys and credentials are transmitted securely (using secure headers or body parameters) and never exposed in URLs.

4. Implement Rate Limiting and Throttling

Best Practice: Protect APIs from Abuse with Rate Limiting

• Rate limiting restricts the number of requests a client can make to the API in a given time frame, mitigating Denial-of-Service (DoS) and brute-force attacks.
• Implement throttling to protect against traffic spikes, ensuring that the API remains responsive and doesn’t overwhelm backend systems.

5. Use API Firewalls for Threat Detection and Prevention

Best Practice: Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAF) for APIs

• Use API-specific firewalls to protect APIs from common attack vectors like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), and other exploits.
• Configure custom rules in the firewall to filter out malicious requests based on known attack patterns, payload analysis, or traffic anomalies.

6. Regularly Scan for Vulnerabilities

Best Practice: Continuously Monitor and Test APIs for Vulnerabilities

• Regularly use API vulnerability scanners to scan for common security issues such as broken authentication, data exposure, and improper input validation.
• Employ dynamic analysis tools (DAST) that test APIs during runtime to identify vulnerabilities in real-time, such as incorrect handling of user input or insecure API endpoints.

7. Monitor and Log API Activity

Best Practice: Enable Logging and Real-Time Monitoring of API Traffic

• Continuously monitor API traffic for unusual patterns that may indicate an attack, such as excessive requests, failed login attempts, or access to unauthorized endpoints.
• Implement logging of all API transactions to ensure that you can trace suspicious activity or breaches.
• Use centralized logging systems that aggregate logs from all API services, making it easier to identify, investigate, and respond to security incidents.

8. Validate Input and Output Data

Best Practice: Prevent Injection and Data Manipulation Attacks

• Input validation: Always validate and sanitize all incoming data to ensure it is in the expected format.
• Output encoding: Ensure that data sent back to the client is properly encoded to prevent XSS attacks, where malicious scripts could be injected into the API response.
• Implement parameterized queries to avoid SQL injection vulnerabilities when handling database operations.

9. Implement API Deprecation and Versioning Strategies

Best Practice: Manage API Lifecycle with Secure Versioning

• Use API versioning to ensure backward compatibility while making security and functionality improvements.
• Deprecate older APIs with proper notice to clients and ensure they are no longer accessible once the transition period is over.

10. Perform Penetration Testing and Red Teaming

Best Practice: Simulate Real Attacks to Identify Security Gaps

• Regularly perform penetration tests on your API to simulate real-world attacks and identify potential vulnerabilities that might be overlooked during regular security scans.
• Conduct red teaming exercises to test the API’s defenses under simulated attack conditions, including bot attacks, DDoS attacks, and advanced persistent threats (APTs).

Why API Security Is Important

• Exposed Endpoints: APIs provide external access to internal systems, which makes them a prime target for attacks if not properly secured.
• Data Sensitivity: APIs often handle sensitive data, including user credentials, financial transactions, and personal information, making them attractive to attackers.
• API Abuse: APIs can be abused by attackers to access backend systems, perform unauthorized actions, or overload systems with excessive requests (e.g., DoS attacks).
• Regulatory Compliance: Many industries require strict security standards, such as GDPR, PCI DSS, or HIPAA, which extend to APIs, making security compliance crucial.

With the rapid growth of microservices and API-driven architectures, having robust API security measures in place is critical to ensuring both the functionality and security of applications and the data they handle.

Q&A on API Security

Why is API security so important in today’s digital ecosystem?

A: API security has become increasingly critical due to the central role APIs play in modern applications. APIs are the bridges that allow different services and applications to communicate, whether within an organization’s internal infrastructure or with external partners. However, this widespread connectivity introduces significant security risks, as APIs often expose sensitive data, provide access to critical business operations, and serve as entry points for attackers. For example, poorly secured APIs are a common target for hackers who might attempt to exploit vulnerabilities, such as broken authentication, inadequate data encryption, or flawed access control mechanisms. A compromised API could lead to massive data breaches, service disruptions, or unauthorized control over systems. Securing APIs is therefore vital to ensure data privacy, maintain the integrity of business processes, and protect against malicious actors.

What makes securing an API different from securing other parts of an application?

A: Securing an API is distinct from securing other parts of an application primarily due to its role as an open interface through which systems communicate. Unlike traditional monolithic applications, which rely on more direct interactions between components, APIs are often exposed to external users or systems, making them inherently more vulnerable. APIs are designed to expose certain functionalities to other systems, this means that they must carefully balance accessibility with security. Securing an API involves considering both internal and external threats, managing sensitive data in transit, validating input rigorously, and ensuring robust access control. Unlike securing a traditional user-facing application, which might focus more on user authentication and data input forms, API security demands attention to aspects like rate limiting, secure token usage, and preventing issues like Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR) or Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).

How do we ensure that an API is not susceptible to unauthorized access or misuse?

A: To prevent unauthorized access or misuse of an API, it is crucial to implement a robust authentication and authorization framework. Authentication ensures that the entity making the request is who it claims to be, and authorization determines whether that entity is allowed to access specific resources or perform certain actions.

The most common way to handle API authentication today is through OAuth 2.0, where tokens are issued to authenticated users or systems. These tokens often have defined expiration times and scopes, ensuring that only specific actions are permitted within a limited time window. Another widely used method is JWT (JSON Web Tokens), which are stateless tokens that carry information about the user or client in an encrypted or signed format.

To complement authentication, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) should be enforced. With RBAC, users or services are assigned roles, and each role has certain permissions tied to it. ABAC goes a step further by considering additional attributes (like the time of access or user location) when determining whether a request should be allowed.

How do you detect and respond to attacks on an API, especially in real-time?

A: Detecting and responding to attacks on APIs in real time requires continuous monitoring of API traffic and behavior. This is where tools like API security platforms (e.g., Salt Security, Data Theorem) and Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) come into play. These platforms typically monitor incoming traffic patterns for anomalies, such as an unusual volume of requests from a specific IP address, an unexpected type of API request, or failed authentication attempts. When an anomaly is detected, the system can automatically trigger alerts, logging, and even preventive measures like blocking the malicious IP address or rate-limiting their requests.

How can an API be made more resilient to common attacks like SQL injection, XSS, and other injection attacks?

A: To make an API more resilient to attacks such as SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and other injection-based threats, input validation and data sanitation are paramount.

SQL injection occurs when an attacker inserts malicious SQL code into an API’s input fields, which is then executed on the database. To prevent this, always use prepared statements or parameterized queries for database interaction, as they ensure that user inputs are treated as data, not executable code. Avoid directly concatenating user inputs into queries.

XSS attacks happen when an attacker injects malicious scripts into API responses, which can then be executed in the browser of users who consume the API. To prevent XSS, ensure that API responses are properly escaped or encoded before being rendered in the browser. Always sanitize inputs and use security features like Content Security Policy (CSP) to restrict what scripts can run on your website.

For other injection attacks, like XML injection or Command injection, the solution lies in proper data validation. If your API handles XML or shell commands, make sure the data is sanitized and filtered to reject any suspicious input that could alter the logic or behavior of these processes.

What are the challenges organizations face in securing APIs, and how can they be addressed?

A: One of the primary challenges in securing APIs is the rapid development and deployment cycle of modern applications. APIs are often exposed to the internet, but many organizations are not aware of the full extent of their API ecosystem, especially in microservices-based architectures. The proliferation of APIs, often developed by different teams or third-party providers, increases the risk of inconsistent security practices.

To address this, organizations need to implement API discovery tools that help identify and catalog all active APIs.

Another challenge is insufficient input validation. Many attacks, like SQL injection or XSS, exploit a lack of proper validation and sanitization.

Securing APIs while maintaining performance and scalability can be tricky. Implementing stringent security checks can introduce latency, affecting user experience. To overcome this, organizations can use API gateways, which centralize security functions like rate limiting, authentication, and logging. API gateways help offload security tasks from backend systems, enabling better performance management while maintaining security.