API security is the practice of protecting application programming interfaces from unauthorized access, abuse, data exposure, and logic flaws. It matters because APIs often carry sensitive data and business-critical actions across modern applications, mobile apps, SaaS platforms, and integrations.
What is API Security?
API security includes authentication, authorization, input validation, rate limiting, schema enforcement, monitoring, and secure design of how application interfaces expose data and functions. Poor API security can lead to data leakage, privilege abuse, and workflow manipulation.
Common API Security Risks
Common issues include broken object-level authorization, weak authentication, excessive data exposure, poor rate limits, insecure tokens, and undocumented or shadow APIs.
API Security vs. Traditional Web Security
Traditional web security often focuses on browser-based applications and pages. API security focuses more directly on service interfaces, machine-to-machine communication, and programmatic access patterns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are APIs heavily targeted?
Because they often expose core business logic and data in ways that are easy to automate, abuse, and chain together.
How do teams improve API security?
Through strong authentication, least-privilege authorization, schema validation, testing, observability, and better inventory of all exposed APIs.
Related Cybersecurity Terms
- Application Security (AppSec)
- Business Logic Flaw
- Access Control
- Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
