Imagine you’re standing at a bustling intersection of the digital world. Here, countless streams of data flow seamlessly between apps, devices, and systems. At the heart of this intricate web lies a hidden superhero called Rest API. But like any superhero, it also has its kryptonite i.e. looming shadow of cyber threats.
Unsafe APIs are gateways for hackers to exploit sensitive data, disrupt services, or even compromise an entire network. These emerging risks have made Rest API security become more salient. But the question is how can you improve it? Also, is there any company that can help you with the same?
In this blog, API Connects – trusted for data analytics solutions in New Zealand – will explain everything about rest API security.
Let’s start by understanding its importance in detail!
Why REST API Security is Important?
APIs act as a bridge between applications. They allow the system to share data and services. However, they can become vulnerable to malicious attacks as any entry point in the network. According to a report by Akamai, UK infrastructure organizations faced an alarmingly high rate of API security incidents over the past year, which stood at 94% for the country’s public sector, 92% for the financial sector and 90% for the health sector.
Now you must be thinking, “What kind of Rest API security attack are these businesses facing?” Well, there’s not one type but many:
Data breaches: Hackers expose sensitive customer data, personal information or business-critical assets. This leads to financial losses as well as reputational damage.
Compliance violations: API security attacks lead to non-compliance with various data protection laws like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. These impose heavy fines and legal repercussions.
Service disruptions: Attacks like DoS and DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) can have a serious effect on offline services, affecting your customers and partners.
Rest API security helps businesses by:
1 Preventing unauthorized access
As you saw above, APIs are the doorways to the most sensitive systems in a company. With proper security measures, only authenticated and authorized users will interact with the API.
2 Protecting application integrity
APIs can expose underlying application logic. Thus, letting attackers exploit to bypass business rules or alter core application functionality. Secure APIs ensure that the integrity of the application remains intact. It prevents tampering or exploitation that could lead to system malfunctions or inconsistencies.
3 Keeping advanced threats at bay
Modern cyberattacks attack APIs through techniques such as injection, parameter tampering, or credential stuffing. Advanced threats through proper Rest API security are achieved by using input validation and rate limiting in real-time.
4 Gaining customer trust
Every customer expects a business to keep their information confidential. It takes only 1 security breach to undermine trust and loyalty with customers. Ensuring API security demonstrates the organization’s commitment to protect customers’ information.
5 Ensuring business continuity and competitive advantage
Secure Rest APIs = fewer instances of downtime caused by breaches or attacks. Rest security guarantees seamless operation (a key to maintaining competitiveness). Organizations that invest in the security of APIs are assured of offering innovative solutions built on APIs without risking their openness.
Also read:
Everything about Building a Data Warehouse from Scratch
All about Onboarding Automation
Predictive analytics in healthcare industry
A comprehensive guide on Data visualization and analytics
What are Tips for Securing REST APIs?
Now that you know the importance of Rest API security, it’s time to address the elephant in the room – how to secure APIs. See, for that, you need a multi-layered approach to defend them from a wide variety of undesired threats.
Below are a few tips for securing your APIs:
Use HTTPS
Always use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) instead of HTTP to encrypt all the communication channels between client and server. The use of HTTPS will ensure that all data transmitted between client and server is encrypted, thus making it difficult for anyone to intercept information such as passwords, tokens, and personal data.
Implement Strong Authentication
This will ensure that only genuine users and systems have access to your API; first and foremost, it is a first line of defense against unauthorized access. The Commonly used authentication mechanisms include OAuth, JWT (JSON Web Tokens), and API keys. OAuth 2.0 is among the popular standards found in most APIs that allow secure access to these APIs, especially for third-party application building.
Authorization Checks
Authentication may determine that a user or system is legitimate; whereas authorization ensures that the authenticated subject has the permissions to access certain resources or services. Role-based access control (RBAC) limits some of the specific endpoints of the API by user roles so that a particular user can only access those data for which he/she is authorized, thereby limiting chances of privilege escalation.
Input Validation
Manipulation of input data through SQL injection or cross-site scripting (XSS) is typically the most common attack vector. Validate all inputs from users or any external sources to the expected format. Use whitelisting instead of blacklisting for filtering valid inputs, and sanitize all inputs before you proceed to process them.
Rate Limiting
Rate limiting is one of the important measures to prevent abuse by restricting the requests from users to an API so they do not flood your API with thousands of calls, which may lead to a denial of service attack. Setting up rate limits ensures fair usage and helps protect your services from any over-commercialization or denial-of-service attacks.
Encrypt Sensitive Data
Whether it’s data in transit or data at rest, encryption should be a key part of your REST API security strategy. This ensures that even if attackers gain access to the data, they will not be able to read it without the appropriate decryption keys.
Regularly Update and Patch APIs
Keeping your API updated is essential to be fully fortified against any vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals often set out to attack or target outdated systems knowing that organizations may not have applied the latest security fixes for them. Regular vulnerability assessments coupled with automated patch management are very necessary in staying ahead of potential threats.
Monitor API Traffic
Monitoring API traffic in real time helps detect unusual actions or indications of security breaches. Install logging to monitor API use and traffic observing devices that define traffic patterns for purposes of suspicious behaviors. For example, spikes in requests or attempts to access from unusual IP addresses.
Implement API Gateway
An API gateway is a layer of abstraction between your clients and the backend services. It enforces security policies such as authentication or rate-limiting and provides a layer of defense from attacks. API gateways can also help you log, monitor, and analyze API traffic in a centralized way.
Which is the Best Company to Consider for REST API Security?
API Connect is a trusted partner when talking about API security. Having experience of more than 10 years, our team use state-of-art tech stack and practices such as threat detection, encryption, and traffic monitoring to protect your systems from risks and breaches. This makes us one of the best options for many industries, especially finance, where both security and speed are significant.
For instance, in the finance sector, most institutions face slow and insecure onboarding processes. One of our clients also faced this issue. For them, we developed and automated APIs for Core Banking and Anti-Money Laundering systems. Using REST APIs, we designed in the Spring Boot Framework. This also helped us significantly accelerate and improve security.
Not only do we help our clients save time but also ensure sensitive data protection. They were able to stay in line with strict financial regulations. Simply put, API Connects is a good option for companies that require safe and efficient Rest API security solutions in 2025!
Best Mulesoft Integration service in New Zealand
Rest API Security: Endnotes
As the number of APIs continues to grow, so does the need for robust REST API security. Implementing the right security practices is essential to safeguarding sensitive data, maintaining customer trust, and avoiding costly breaches. By following best practices and regularly monitoring API traffic, businesses can create a solid defense against cyber threats.
For businesses that require additional expertise, partnering with a trusted company like API Connects can further strengthen your API security strategy. With our comprehensive approach to API protection, you can ensure that your digital infrastructure remains safe, secure, and reliable in today’s increasingly connected world.
Drop us an email at enquiry@apiconnects.co.nz to speak with one of our engineers and discuss your business objectives.
Don’t forget to check out our most popular services:
AI Automation & Machine Learning Services in New Zealand
