In API Security, Complacency is the Enemy

In my view, there are a few important things we can do about this:

Acknowledge the prevalence and novelty of API attacks. Realize that your current and future digital framework is predicated upon APIs. API traffic is now the majority of web traffic, and ignoring API security is not an option-dive into it, understand it, prioritize it.

Arm against evolving threats. Understand that the defense measures of yesterday are inadequate against today's API and AI threats. There's a reason that groups like OWASP have new Top Ten lists for APIs and AI weaknesses, and your defenses must adapt to these changes in architecture and attack methods. F5 can assist in fortifying your infrastructure by sharing knowledge on the nature of these modern attacks and the solutions we've developed in response.

Understand The Limitations of Partial Solutions. Security strategies that focus solely on a portion of the lifecycle-from code to customer-fall short. Visibility is key. Without a comprehensive view of where your APIs reside, whether in code, traffic, or third-party integrations, you can't fully understand, document, or test them. This lack of understanding directly impacts your capacity to anticipate and respond to unexpected inputs. And in the fluid landscape where API surfaces morph with every code update or infrastructure shift, constant vigilance is imperative.

Get End-to-End Visibility and Automation. Only a purpose-built, end-to-end solution can offer the complete visibility necessary to keep pace with the rapid evolution of API landscapes. Manual efforts are no longer sufficient; automation is essential to capture the continuous changes and to ensure comprehensive monitoring and documentation. In addition, while technology alone can't solve people or process problems, thoughtful technology design can help multiple stakeholders within an organization gain understanding to make it easier for multiple teams to collaborate and work together.