There are thousands of businesses that are heavily reliant on APIs as a way of ensuring that the different apps and software programs behind the scenes are ‘talking’ properly to one another. However, if you do not put enough time and effort into ensuring that it is secure, it can easily create a situation where various parts of your business are under threat. With this in mind, here are a few best practices for security that can help your business to have that additional layer of protection that gives you peace of mind and lets your business grow with the minimum possible fuss.
Authenticate and Authorize Users
To begin with, it is certainly going to be worth putting in a system of authorization to ensure that only the right people can access the API in the first place. Not only do you need to be able to identify the users, but you also need to have a clear picture of the devices that they are using. If there is anything at all that appears amiss, it is certainly worth getting the best possible handle on this, and you need to limit access where appropriate.
Implement Access Control
To implement a better access control system, it is worth looking into an API Gateway Proxy as a starting point. You certainly want to validate the person who is trying to gain access in the first place. At the same time, you may also want some limits in place in terms of the number of users who can gain access to the API. You can also look into keeping your API behind a firewall to offer that additional layer of protection and reduce the number of attacks that could occur.
Assess Your API Risks
As all businesses are different and the needs of the API are going to vary from place to place, you are going to have your own set of risks that you have to deal with. Therefore, it is certainly going to be worth doing a risk assessment from time to time to see exactly where your major threats lie. While this is useful when you are first putting in place the API, it is also going to be worth relooking at this from time to time. After all, the number of threats is bound to vary, and you need to be ready to meet any new challenges head-on.
Share Only Necessary Information
This is a security best practice that should be at the heart of your business as a whole, but it is certainly only worth sharing the necessary information, and this should include the minimum level. This means that you cannot be accused of collecting anything extra, which can cause major issues.
All of these are among the best practices of an API, which is relevant to all sorts of businesses all over the world. However, many of these will simply not put enough time and effort into it all, which is why you need to do more.
