Best 10 API Security Tools for Business (2026)
We reviewed the leading API security tools on how well each discovers undocumented and shadow APIs, the accuracy of vulnerability identification, and how runtime protection holds up against the real-world API attacks that automated scanners do not always replicate.
Written by
Alex Zawalnyski
Technical Review by
Laura Iannini
Quick Summary
API security tools discover, monitor, and protect APIs against vulnerabilities including authentication weaknesses, injection flaws, and broken access controls — addressing the specific attack classes that general web application scanners frequently miss. APIs are the fastest-growing attack surface in most organizations and are often less rigorously secured than web applications. We reviewed the top tools and found Invicti API Security, Acunetix, and Aikido Security to be the strongest on shadow API discovery and runtime protection depth.
APIs are your attack surface now. Shadow APIs, undocumented endpoints, and forgotten integrations accumulate faster than your team can track them. Finding vulnerabilities is only half the battle, This is where it gets hard: spotting exploitable flaws without drowning your developers in false positives that slow deployment pipelines.
The API security market split decades ago. Vendors built either testing tools focused on development workflows or runtime protection for production traffic. Increasingly, organizations need both, which means either juggling multiple platforms or settling for tooling that does one thing well and the other half-heartedly.
We evaluated 10 API security platforms across development-focused scanning, runtime protection, bot defense, and threat detection. We evaluated each for accuracy (how well they surface real issues without false noise), ease of integration into existing pipelines, and whether the scanning results translate to actionable remediation work. We reviewed customer feedback and tested deployments in controlled environments simulating real enterprise API footprints with REST, GraphQL, and legacy SOAP endpoints.
Our Recommendations
The right platform depends on whether you want standalone API testing or unified code, cloud, and runtime coverage.
- Best For Discovery and Automation: Invicti API Security proof-based scanning confirms exploitable vulnerabilities, dramatically reducing false positive investigation time.
- Best For Enterprise-Scale Visibility: Acunetix incremental reporting delivers vulnerability alerts during scans, not just after completion.
- Best For Speed to Deployment: Aikido Security single platform eliminates tool sprawl across code, cloud, and runtime security.
- Best For Specialized Compliance: 42Crunch API analyzes 300+ aspects of API definitions with specific, actionable remediation guidance.
- Best For Alternative Workflows: APISec offers custom attack playbooks catch BOLA, privilege escalation, and business logic flaws.
Invicti API Security discovers and tests APIs across the development lifecycle, targeting organizations running large API footprints that need continuous visibility into undocumented and shadow endpoints. The platform combines DAST and IAST scanning with automated asset discovery to identify vulnerabilities before they reach production.
Invicti API Security Key Features
Proof-based scanning is the core differentiator. Instead of flagging every potential issue, Invicti confirms vulnerabilities by safely exploiting them and attaching proof artifacts to each finding. This reduces false positive noise and lets teams focus remediation on verified risks. Shadow API discovery surfaces undocumented endpoints that other scanners miss. Combined DAST and IAST scanning provides both external and internal code-level visibility into API risks. The platform integrates with DevOps pipelines, SSO, and CI/CD toolchains for continuous scanning.
Our Take
We think Invicti API Security works best for organizations managing substantial API footprints that need tight developer workflow integration and continuous discovery rather than periodic scanning. The shadow API discovery surfaces endpoints that other scanners miss, and Proof-Based Scanning reduces false positive triage significantly.
Strengths
- Proof-based scanning confirms exploitable vulnerabilities, dramatically reducing false positive investigation
- Automated discovery identifies shadow and forgotten APIs across the full development environment
- Strong integration fits naturally into existing CI/CD pipelines and developer workflows
- Combined DAST + IAST scanning for wider API vulnerability coverage
Cautions
- Pricing not publicly available; requires contacting sales for a quote
Acunetix is a web application and API security scanner that combines DAST and IAST to give development teams vulnerability detection across their full web stack. The platform can detect over 7,000 different vulnerabilities and automatically identifies all of a company’s websites, applications, and APIs.
Acunetix Key Features
Incremental reporting is a key strength. The platform delivers vulnerability alerts as issues are found during scanning rather than waiting for a full scan to complete. Proof-Based Scanning validates vulnerabilities with actual exploit evidence before flagging them, which significantly reduces false positives. Acunetix can effectively scan single-page applications, script-heavy sites, and hard-to-reach areas like password-protected sections. The platform integrates with CI/CD pipelines, issue trackers, and WAFs, and pinpoints exact code locations for faster developer remediation.
Our Take
We think Acunetix works well for development teams that need accurate scanning without dedicated security engineering overhead. The ability to detect over 7,000 vulnerabilities and scan hard-to-reach areas makes it a strong choice. Combined DAST and IAST provides both external and internal code-level visibility into API risks.
Strengths
- Incremental reporting delivers vulnerability alerts during scans, not just after completion
- Proof-of-exploit documentation helps developers prioritize real issues over false positives
- Native Jira and Jenkins integrations fit naturally into existing CI/CD workflows
- Combined DAST and IAST scanning surfaces hidden APIs other tools miss
Cautions
- Pricing not publicly available; requires contacting sales for a quote
Aikido Security is a complete platform for code, cloud, and runtime security. Its API security component automatically maps and scans all of your APIs for vulnerabilities, replacing the need for manual pentests.
Aikido Security Key Features
Aikido compiles a list of all APIs using fuzzing and generates example traffic data using Swagger-to-traffic. It offers runtime security to automate API detection and find any shadow APIs on your network. It then uses AI to simulate attacks, like SQL injections, completely autonomously. There is no need for manual work, or expensive manual pentesting. Aikido’s DAST tool can also be used to detect vulnerabilities.
The three areas complement each other well, as Aikido’s runtime security tool automates API discovery, while the DAST tool can scan vulnerabilities. Aikido is a single platform for cloud, code, and runtime security with complete coverage of all APIs across REST and GraphQL. It can automatically create and test Swagger docs.
Our Take
Aikido starts at $350 USD per month for up to 10 users. For API scanning for REST and GraphQL, you’d need the Pro plan, which starts at $700 USD per month. A free version is also available with basic features for up to 2 developers. Aikido is ideal for teams looking for a scalable API security solution that automates discovery. It’s a great option for those looking for a single platform for code, cloud, and runtime security.
Strengths
- Automated API discovery and fuzzing across REST and GraphQL
- AI-powered attack simulation replaces costly manual pentesting
- Runtime security automates shadow API detection
- Automatically creates and tests Swagger documentation
- Single platform for code, cloud, and runtime security
Cautions
- Breadth of features may be more than smaller teams with simple testing needs require
42Crunch API
42Crunch brings API security directly into the development lifecycle with security testing and threat protection capabilities. The platform analyzes over 300 aspects of API definitions and returns actionable fixes rather than just flagged issues. IDE extensions have been adopted by over 1.6 million developers worldwide. We think the shift-left approach anchored to OpenAPI specifications makes this a strong choice for organizations that practice contract-first API development and want developers owning security.
42Crunch API Key Features
Deep API definition analysis is the core differentiator. The platform runs over 300 security checks against OpenAPI specs, catching data leakage risks, misconfigurations, and authentication errors before code ships. Live endpoint testing validates that production APIs behave as expected, not just that specifications look clean. Continuous monitoring catches vulnerabilities introduced by code changes automatically. CI/CD integration embeds security checks into pipelines so scanning happens on every commit. The threat protection component distinguishes legitimate traffic from attacks in real time, giving both proactive testing and reactive defense in one platform. The runtime micro-firewall enforces API contracts on every transaction using a positive security model.
What Customers Say
Onboarding tutorials and support responsiveness earn positive marks. The structured security checks and OWASP alignment get consistent praise. Something to be aware of is that initial pipeline integration can cause friction, particularly for teams running complex environments with non-standard OpenAPI flows. The UI has drawn feedback as feeling management-heavy rather than developer-first in some areas.
Our Take
We think 42Crunch works well for organizations already invested in contract-first API development with accurate OpenAPI definitions. The combination of static analysis, live testing, and runtime protection covers the full API lifecycle. If your teams do not maintain clean API contracts, address that gap first. For API-first organizations that treat specifications as the source of truth, this delivers across development and production.
Strengths
- Analyzes over 300 aspects of API definitions with specific, actionable remediation guidance
- Continuous monitoring catches vulnerabilities introduced by code changes automatically
- Strong CI/CD integration embeds security checks directly into developer workflows
- Combines proactive security testing with real-time threat protection in one platform
Cautions
- Users note initial pipeline integration can cause friction in complex environments
- Reviews flag non-standard OpenAPI flows may require extra troubleshooting during setup
APIsec
APIsec automates API security testing with custom attack playbooks generated from API definitions, running them before code reaches production. The platform supports testing from OpenAPI, Swagger, Postman, and RAML specifications with over 1,200 pre-built security playbooks. We think the automated playbook generation targeting business logic flaws and the low false positive rate make this a practical choice for DevOps teams that need continuous vulnerability detection without heavy manual effort.
APIsec Key Features
Automated attack playbook generation is the core differentiator. The platform identifies BOLA, broken access controls, privilege escalations, and business logic flaws that static analysis misses. These are the vulnerabilities that actually get exploited in production. Over 1,200 pre-built security playbooks cover OWASP API Top 10 and advanced attack categories. CI/CD integration surfaces vulnerabilities during development cycles without disrupting existing workflows. Zero-touch cloud deployment requires no agents or code instrumentation. For internal APIs, a lightweight Docker-based scanner communicates with the control plane over SSL. A free scanning option before purchase lets teams evaluate the platform against their actual API estate with real results rather than demo data. APIsec University provides practical training and regulatory framework guidance to build team capability.
What Customers Say
Teams report feeling more secure with continuous testing running. The DevSecOps integration earns positive marks for fitting into existing tooling without friction. Something to be aware of is that early scans can produce false positives requiring manual review and tuning. The interface can become cluttered with results, and prioritization guidance could be clearer. Initial configuration requires a time investment before optimal results.
Our Take
We think APIsec works well for teams that need coverage of business logic flaws and access control vulnerabilities that scanning alone misses. The free pre-purchase evaluation against your actual API estate is a genuine differentiator. If you want plug-and-play simplicity, budget extra onboarding time. For compliance-heavy environments tracking PCI-DSS, HIPAA, or SOC II, the attack playbook depth aligns well.
Strengths
- Custom attack playbooks catch BOLA, privilege escalation, and business logic flaws
- Free pre-purchase scanning evaluates against your actual API environment with real results
- Over 1,200 pre-built security playbooks cover OWASP API Top 10 and advanced categories
- APIsec University provides practical training and regulatory framework guidance
Cautions
- Users report early scans produce false positives requiring manual review and tuning
- Reviews note the interface can become cluttered with results as findings accumulate
Cequence Security
Cequence combines API discovery with real-time bot attack prevention using AI-powered behavioral detection. The platform protects over 10 billion daily API interactions, targeting organizations dealing with credential stuffing, account takeover attempts, and API abuse at scale. Cequence was named a Leader in the 2025 KuppingerCole Leadership Compass for API Security and Management. We think the behavioral analysis approach makes this a strong choice for organizations where bot-driven attacks dominate the threat landscape.
Cequence Security Key Features
Real-time bot defense is the core differentiator. The platform blocks credential stuffing and account hijacking attempts in real time, filtering malicious traffic before it reaches backend systems. Behavioral fingerprinting distinguishes between legitimate power users and sophisticated automated activity that mimics human behavior, going beyond simple rate limiting. API discovery runs continuously, inventorying your attack surface including unknown APIs you did not know existed. The ML engine classifies threats by industry-specific patterns with distinct detection models for telecom, retail, and financial services. Traffic analysis provides detailed drilldown into findings, showing patterns, anomalies, and attack attempts as they happen. The platform scales automatically as API footprints grow without requiring architecture changes.
What Customers Say
Credential stuffing attempts dropping to near zero after deployment gets called out repeatedly. Real-time detection keeps malicious traffic from reaching backend systems. False positive rates stay low. Something to be aware of is that initial setup is complex, especially when integrating with existing systems. Detection rule tuning requires experience and time to optimize properly.
Our Take
We think Cequence Security makes sense for organizations where credential stuffing and account takeover are primary threats. The behavioral approach catches sophisticated bots that signature-based detection misses. If your threat landscape is mainly vulnerability scanning and code security, this is not the right fit. For organizations with dedicated security resources that can manage ongoing tuning, the bot defense capabilities are among the strongest available.
Strengths
- Real-time bot blocking stops credential stuffing and account takeover attempts effectively
- Continuous API discovery surfaces unknown endpoints and maps the full attack surface
- Industry-specific ML models provide tailored detection for telecom, retail, and financial services
- Scales automatically as API footprints and organization grow
Cautions
- Users report initial setup is complex, especially when integrating with existing systems
- Reviews note detection rule tuning requires experience and time to optimize properly
Intruder
Intruder is a cloud-based vulnerability management platform covering servers, cloud systems, websites, endpoints, and APIs. The platform targets IT teams that want unified visibility across their entire attack surface rather than API-specific protection alone. We think the fast setup and auto-discovery capabilities make this a practical choice for teams that want broad vulnerability management with API scanning included rather than a standalone API security tool.
Intruder Key Features
Fast time-to-value is a core strength. The platform is simple to configure without needing professional services. Engineers run scans and triage issues without specialist security training. Built-in cloud connectors for AWS, Azure, and GCP auto-discover targets automatically. The clean UI and single-pane dashboard provide real-time visibility into assets and vulnerabilities. Emerging threat scans add proactive coverage for newly disclosed vulnerabilities affecting your environment. API security checks reference OWASP Top 10, identifying vulnerabilities and misconfigurations that matter. Automated scans run on schedule, and findings are prioritized by urgency with relevant remediation advice attached. ITSM integration via API fits the platform into existing workflows.
What Customers Say
The clean interface and self-service approach earn consistent praise. Engineers appreciate being able to run and triage scans without specialist security knowledge. Cloud auto-discovery simplifies initial setup. Something to be aware of is that reporting and compliance exports lack the flexibility found in specialized API security platforms. The platform covers broad attack surface management rather than deep API-specific testing.
Our Take
We think Intruder works well for IT teams that need unified vulnerability management across their infrastructure with API scanning included. If you need deep API-specific testing with protocol-level coverage across REST, GraphQL, and gRPC, dedicated API security tools will go deeper. For teams that want broad attack surface visibility with minimal setup and API coverage as part of the package, this delivers.
Strengths
- Fast setup with no professional services required, engineers self-serve immediately
- Auto-discovery via AWS, Azure, and GCP connectors maps cloud assets automatically
- Clean dashboard provides single-pane visibility into vulnerabilities across the environment
- Emerging threat scans proactively check for newly disclosed vulnerabilities
Cautions
- Users note reporting and compliance exports lack flexibility compared to specialized platforms
Salt Security
Salt Security uses patented AI and ML behavioral analysis to baseline normal API activity and detect anomalies that indicate reconnaissance or attack progression. The platform targets organizations needing advanced API protection that goes beyond signature-based detection to catch sophisticated attack patterns before exploitation. In January 2026, Salt introduced GenAI-powered API Summaries that explain the purpose, data flow, and risk of any API in plain language. We think the behavioral baselining approach makes this a strong choice for organizations with mature security programs that need to catch low-and-slow attacks other tools miss.
Salt Security Key Features
Patented behavioral analysis is the core differentiator. The platform creates per-user baselines of normal API activity, then identifies anomalies that indicate reconnaissance or attack progression. This catches bad actors during information gathering, before they exploit anything. Automatic discovery covers the full API estate including zombie and shadow APIs. Continuous visibility shows exactly what is running, not just what is documented. Salt AI API Summaries use GenAI to explain any API’s purpose, data flow, and risk in plain language, enabling security analysts to triage risks instantly without deciphering complex code. The Posture Governance Engine extends API security across design and test phases for risk reduction at all lifecycle stages. Remediation insights route directly to developers as issues surface. The platform correlates behavior over time to distinguish real attack patterns from noise.
What Customers Say
Consulting support through implementation and ongoing engagement earns consistent praise. The behavioral detection catches threats that other tools miss. Something to be aware of is that non-standard API implementations can be more complex to manage. Integration with existing systems requires planning and expertise to get right.
Our Take
We think Salt Security fits organizations with mature security programs ready for behavioral API protection. The per-user baselining catches reconnaissance and low-and-slow attacks that signature-based tools miss entirely. If you are running non-standard API implementations, budget extra time for integration work. The GenAI-powered API Summaries added in 2026 reduce the expertise barrier for triaging risks. For organizations that need to detect sophisticated attack patterns beyond what traditional scanning catches, this delivers.
Strengths
- Patented behavioral baselining detects reconnaissance activity before attacks fully develop
- Automatic discovery surfaces zombie and shadow APIs across the full environment
- GenAI-powered API Summaries explain risk in plain language for faster triage
- Strong consulting support through implementation and ongoing engagement
Cautions
- Users note non-standard API implementations require additional integration work
Traceable
Traceable provides API security across the full development lifecycle, built on a data lake architecture that enables deep traffic analysis and flexible deployment. Traceable merged with Harness in March 2025, combining API security with the broader Harness DevSecOps platform. We think the data lake approach and flexible deployment options make this a practical choice for organizations that need deep API traffic analysis with on-premise support.
Traceable Key Features
The data lake architecture is the core differentiator. It provides extensive ways to analyze API usage patterns, letting teams slice traffic data to understand how APIs are being used and where abuse is occurring. Coverage spans REST, GraphQL, and SOAP protocols. Flexible deployment accommodates on-premise infrastructure and custom configurations, which matters for organizations with strict infrastructure requirements. WAF integrations close coverage gaps between API security and existing perimeter defenses. The testing capabilities cover OWASP API Top 10 and business logic vulnerabilities using contextual fuzzing and replay-based assessments. GenAI API security testing covers AI-specific risks from the OWASP LLM Top 10. Virtual patching provides immediate protection while permanent fixes are developed. API inventory management simplifies triage and visibility across the full API estate.
What Customers Say
Support responsiveness earns consistent praise. The support team answers questions quickly and walks through complex workflows to help teams find answers independently. Account teams schedule calls on short notice to work through issues. Something to be aware of is that the interface still shows startup origins, with customers flagging confusion navigating the platform. Missing features like saved queries and persistent view preferences add friction. Occasional inconsistencies with filters and page numbers are reported.
Our Take
We think Traceable makes sense for organizations that need deep API traffic analysis with flexible deployment options including on-premise support. The Harness merger adds broader DevSecOps platform capabilities. If you need a polished, self-service interface, factor in the learning curve and UI limitations. The support team actively compensates for the interface gaps. For deep API security with data lake-powered traffic analysis, this delivers.
Strengths
- Data lake architecture enables flexible, deep analysis of API traffic patterns
- On-premise deployment and WAF integrations fit complex enterprise environments
- Exceptional support responsiveness with dedicated account team engagement
- GenAI API security testing covers OWASP LLM Top 10 alongside standard vulnerabilities
Cautions
- Users report the interface lacks polish with missing saved queries and persistent view preferences
Wallarm API Security Platform
Wallarm provides real-time API protection for cloud-native environments, covering REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and WebSocket protocols. The platform generates OpenAPI specifications from actual traffic patterns, giving security teams visibility into APIs they did not know existed. Wallarm won the API Security Platform of the Year award in 2025. We think the accurate real-time detection with low false positives and traffic-based API discovery make this a practical choice for DevOps teams that need active threat prevention alongside visibility.
Wallarm API Security Platform Key Features
Real-time threat detection with low false positives is the core strength. The platform detects API threats as they happen, and the accuracy means teams respond to actual attacks rather than chasing noise. Traffic-based API discovery analyzes live traffic to build OpenAPI specs automatically, documenting APIs that development teams never formally specified. This catches shadow and zombie APIs without relying on manual inventories. When vulnerabilities surface before patches exist, Wallarm monitors and blocks exploitation attempts, protecting during the window between discovery and remediation. Advanced rate limiting and behavioral analysis stop bot attacks and Layer-7 DDoS before they impact applications. CI integration with Jenkins, GitLab, Selenium, and CircleCI slots into existing DevSecOps pipelines. The dashboard presents threat data cleanly and intuitively.
What Customers Say
Accurate threat detection with minimal false positives earns consistent praise. The simple integration process gets positive marks for getting protection operational quickly. The clean dashboard makes it easy to see what is happening without digging through complex interfaces. Something to be aware of is that configuration and tuning is complex and time-consuming for new users. Initial setup requires expertise to optimize for specific environments.
Our Take
We think Wallarm works well for DevOps teams and small to medium organizations that need real-time API protection with minimal false positive noise. The traffic-based discovery eliminates the dependency on development teams for API documentation. The built-in bot and DDoS defense extends value beyond pure API security. If your team lacks experience with API security tooling, budget time for initial tuning. For active API threat prevention with protocol coverage across REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and WebSocket, this delivers.
Strengths
- Accurate real-time threat detection with minimal false positives saves investigation time
- Traffic-based API discovery documents APIs without relying on development teams
- Protocol coverage spans REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and WebSocket in one platform
- Built-in bot and Layer-7 DDoS prevention extends beyond pure API security
Cautions
- Users report configuration and tuning process is complex and time-consuming for new users
What To Look For: API Security Solutions Checklist
Evaluating API security platforms requires looking beyond feature checklists to understand how tools fit into your actual workflow and threat market.
- False Positive Rate and Proof of Exploit: How many alerts require investigation before yielding actual findings? Does the platform provide proof of exploitation or just flag potential issues? Tools that waste your team’s time on noise erode trust and slow deployment.
- Coverage Across API Types: Does it scan REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and SOAP? Can it discover shadow and undocumented APIs? Can it handle legacy endpoints alongside modern cloud-native services?
- Integration Into Your Development Workflow: Do you need shift-left testing in CI/CD pipelines, runtime protection for production traffic, or both? Native support for Jenkins, GitLab, and your PSA reduces friction. Can developers act on findings without security expertise?
- Real-Time vs. Periodic Scanning: Are you protecting development, production, or both? Real-time runtime protection catches attacks in motion. Periodic scanning during CI/CD catches issues before production. Your answer determines the tool category you need.
- Deployment Flexibility: Do you need cloud-only, on-premises, or hybrid options? Can you deploy agents, sidecars, or gateways depending on your architecture? Lock-in to cloud-only or on-prem-only creates problems when your infrastructure changes.
- Reporting and Compliance Requirements: Can it generate audit-ready reports for your regulatory framework? Do you need SBOM generation for supply chain compliance? Can you customize reports for different audiences (developers, security teams, executives)?
- Implementation Support and Learning Curve: How much setup do you need before the tool delivers value? Do vendors provide onboarding assistance or documentation only? Support quality varies dramatically in this category, ask for references from similar-sized organizations.
Prioritize based on your biggest pain point. Organizations with sprawling API estates need accuracy and discovery. DevOps teams need CI/CD integration. Security operations teams need real-time production protection. Most need at least two of these.
How We Compared The Best API Security Tools
Expert Insights is an independent editorial team that researches, tests, and reviews cybersecurity and IT infrastructure solutions. No vendor can pay to influence our review of their products. Our evaluations are based solely on product quality.
We evaluated 13 API security platforms covering REST, GraphQL, SOAP, and gRPC endpoints. Testing covered proof-of-concept deployments in controlled environments simulating large API estates with shadow APIs and legacy endpoints, plus modern cloud-native services. We evaluated scanning accuracy, false positive rates, ease of integration into CI/CD pipelines, and runtime detection capabilities for production traffic.
Beyond hands-on testing, we reviewed customer feedback and interviewed users across different organization sizes to understand where vendor claims diverge from operational reality. We evaluated integrations with Jenkins, GitLab, GitHub, and popular SIEM and ticketing platforms. Our editorial and commercial teams remain independent. No vendor can pay to influence our review of their products.
This guide is updated quarterly. For more details on our testing approach, visit: https://expertinsights.com/how-we-test-review-products
The Bottom Line
API security splits between testing tools that catch issues during development and runtime protection for production traffic. Most organizations need both, which forces a choice between integration or consolidation.
If accuracy and developer friction are your biggest pain points, Invicti API Security proves vulnerabilities are exploitable before alerting your team. The low false-positive rate justifies the implementation effort. For mid-market teams wanting unified coverage across development and runtime, Aikido Security consolidates SAST, DAST, SCA, and runtime in one platform without requiring separate admin expertise.
For CI/CD-first teams, Acunetix integrates natively with Jenkins and Jira, delivering incremental scanning results without waiting for full scans. If traffic analysis depth matters more than simplicity, Traceable provides data lake architecture for slicing API patterns.
For teams handling bot attacks and credential stuffing at scale, Cequence Security stops malicious traffic in real time. If behavioral analysis matters, Salt Security baselines normal activity and catches reconnaissance before exploitation. For broader vulnerability management across your infrastructure, Intruder provides API scanning alongside server and endpoint coverage. Teams needing development-focused testing with actionable guidance should evaluate 42Crunch API and APISec.
Review the individual platform sections to understand deployment models, pricing, and the specific tradeoffs that matter for your API architecture and security posture.
FAQs
Everything You Need To Know About API Security Tools (FAQs)
API stands for Application Programming Interface. APIs are used to communicate between products and services that haven’t been designed to be compatible. You can think of an API like an adaptor – it is a way of making two separate software technologies compatible.
APIs are predominantly used by developers when creating new applications and programs. They can use an API to combine two pre-existing technologies, thereby enhancing their own solution.
One of the major benefits of using an API is that it can vastly speed up the development and implementation of new applications. Rather than having to spend time and resource designing custom code, an API can allow you to combine technologies with ease.
APIs (Application Programming Interface) are used to enable two or more applications that were not originally designed to be compatible, to work together and communicate with each other. APIs tend to be set pieces of code that can be inserted wholesale into new developments, allowing data to be pulled from one application, and used by the other.
APIs increase the use cases and versatility of your applications and software, allowing you to achieve more, without having to develop entirely new applications. The problem, however, arises precisely because of this ease of use. APIs can be inserted wholesale during app development, then distributed endlessly to other applications. This means that any security weaknesses or vulnerabilities in the original API could be unknowingly distributed across all other connected applications.
As over 80% of internet traffic runs through APIs, securing against these vulnerabilities is absolutely essential. API security solutions will scan APIs for vulnerabilities, then alert relevant users to the threat. They give detailed, contextual information regarding the threat, with actionable intelligence explaining how the vulnerability can be addressed. Some solutions can also carry out automatic patch deployment, thereby addressing the threat, improving remediation time, and decreasing human workload.
API security solutions will take several steps to address the vulnerabilities and risks associated with APIs. First, API security tools will conduct an inventory to discover and catalog all APIs that are in use. This should be an ongoing process, to ensure that new APIs are identified swiftly.
“Zombie” and “Shadow” APIs are particularly important to track. These are outdated APIs that are no longer monitored or maintained and APIs that are created and deployed under the radar, out with an organization’s knowledge, respectively. It may well be the case that you use an API that itself relies on another API to function.
All discovered APIs can then be scanned to identify any vulnerabilities. This could include fundamental programming errors or misconfigurations with the way they are deployed in your network.
Next, the solution needs to decide how to respond to the vulnerabilities. At this stage, admins should be able to access the information regarding APIs and their risk. Admins do not, necessarily, need to be alerted immediately if an API poses a risk. However, if, for instance, the API security solution is able to deploy a patch and remediate a risk, then this should be an automated process. Automated remediation also reduces alert fatigue, and ensures that threats are addressed swiftly, giving less opportunity for the loophole to be exploited. Where patching is not possible, admins should be given adequate contextual and actionable intelligence that will allow them to respond to the threat. It is very helpful if a security solution can provide a prioritized list of API risks, suggesting which issues should be resolved first.
API vulnerability solutions should provide developers with adequate contextual and actionable intelligence that will allow them to respond to the threat. The vulnerability scanning process should be ongoing, including monitoring system upgrades and the introduction of new software. This way, your infrastructure will be protected throughout its entire lifecycle, and you know that security has been built into the foundations of your systems.
As APIs are integrated so deeply into applications that many organizations rely on, it is crucial that they are secure. If successfully exploited, APIs can allow attackers into the heart of your infrastructure, making remediation complex and costly. API security tools can identify and address some of these vulnerabilities. In this section, we’ll explore some more benefits of API security tools.
Continuous Scanning – API security tools will continually scan your APIs to identify any vulnerabilities and threats. This ensures that admins can be alerted quickly, reducing the time that a vulnerability can be exploited.
Automatic Threat Remediation And Insights – Depending on the nature of the vulnerability, an API security solution should be able to respond to threats automatically and close loopholes. This will reduce alert fatigue and improve response times. If the threat cannot be addressed automatically, it should give admins detailed, contextual intelligence explaining how the threat can be resolved.
Technology Agnostic – API security solutions can work across a range of technologies as they use JSON languages and HTTP requests. JSON is language independent, but uses a similar format to C, C+, C++, Java, Perl, and Python. This allows developers to use a range of languages when developing APIs and implementing API security solutions.
When looking for an API solution, it can be complicated to decipher what features are offered and how they will benefit your organization. In this section, we’ll cover the top features that you should look out for in an API security solution.
- API Discovery – Your solution should conduct automatic API discovery to identify where APIs are in use, so that these areas can be monitored. While some APIs will be obvious, your solution should identify “Zombie” and “Shadow” APIs as well. “Zombie APIs” are outdated APIs that are no longer monitored or maintained. “Shadow APIs” are created and deployed under the radar, without an organization’s knowledge.
- API Threat Testing – This feature allows you to take a proactive stance to understand the scope and scale of a threat. Rather than simply identifying where a vulnerability is, threat testing will probe that vulnerability to understand its significance and potential repercussions.
- API Security Scoring – While this isn’t an essential feature, some solutions will give APIs a score relating to the relative risk. This prioritization allows organizations to focus on remediating the most urgent risks.
- Automatic Remediation – Once a vulnerability is detected, your API security tool should automatically remediate the vulnerability and secure your organization. Potential vulnerabilities should be tracked, with admins notified of threats and developments.
- DevOps Integration – You’ll want to ensure that your solution can integrate effectively with your DevOps environment so that you can ensure new software is secure from inception. It is much more effective to build security into the foundation of design, rather than implement it as an addon after.
There are a couple of settings and configurations that will help to ensure that your API is secure and as effective as possible. In this section, we’ll explain how APIs can be properly secured, giving you the best chance of catching vulnerabilities, beyond using API scanning and security tools.
Implement rate limits – DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks operate by repeatedly requesting access from your API until it is overwhelmed. The API is unable to handle such a high volume, so shuts down. By implementing rate limiting features you can prevent this from occurring. This limits the number of requests that can be made to your API, ensuring that they stay within a set boundary and traffic volume is restricted to manageable limits.
Comprehensive logging and monitoring – to ensure that attacks and anomalies are identified, keeping comprehensive records allows you to spot anomalies quicker. Rates will fluctuate over time; that is only natural. When stats do start to alter, you will want to check if this is within usual bounds, or if it is an exceptional level of variation. If you keep comprehensive logs, you can quickly identify if the real-time statistics are abnormal.
Written By
Alex is an experienced journalist and content editor. He researches, writes, factchecks and edits articles relating to B2B cyber security and technology solutions, working alongside software experts.
Alex was awarded a First Class MA (Hons) in English and Scottish Literature by the University of Edinburgh.
Technical Review
Laura Iannini is a Cybersecurity Analyst at Expert Insights. With deep cybersecurity knowledge and strong research skills, she leads Expert Insights’ product testing team, conducting thorough tests of product features and in-depth industry analysis to ensure that Expert Insights’ product reviews are definitive and insightful.
Laura also carries out wider analysis of vendor landscapes and industry trends to inform Expert Insights’ enterprise cybersecurity buyers’ guides, covering topics such as security awareness training, cloud backup and recovery, email security, and network monitoring. Prior to working at Expert Insights, Laura worked as a Senior Information Security Engineer at Constant Edge, where she tested cybersecurity solutions, carried out product demos, and provided high-quality ongoing technical support.
Laura holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida.