APIs (Application Planning Interface) are sets of programming code that allow applications to talk to one another. They’re a central part of any digital transformation strategy but they can also introduce cyber risk, making an API security strategy a vital element in your armoury. 

The volume of APIs is rapidly increasing, with new vulnerabilities emerging that risk exposing sensitive data. Security teams can struggle to manage and identify exponential numbers of endpoints and connections across their infrastructure. 

To help them cope, developers can end up deploying public APIs, bypassing internally mandated security processes and procedures. These shadow APIs often unintentionally expose sensitive datasets that may be leaked accidentally. Orgs with CI/CD pipelines deploy new code and APIs swiftly, perhaps overlooking security requirements. Permissions should always be set to prevent one user from accessing another user’s data.