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Security Intermediate

What is API Security?

Practices and mechanisms for protecting APIs from unauthorized access, data breaches, and abuse.

API security encompasses authentication (verifying identity — API keys, OAuth tokens, JWTs), authorization (verifying permissions — scopes, RBAC), transport security (HTTPS/TLS), input validation (preventing injection), rate limiting (preventing abuse), and monitoring (detecting anomalies). Common vulnerabilities include Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA — accessing other users' data by changing IDs), excessive data exposure (returning more fields than needed), and mass assignment (accepting unexpected fields). The OWASP API Security Top 10 lists the most critical API risks. Best practices include using short-lived tokens, validating all inputs, implementing proper error handling without leaking details, and logging all API access for audit.

Related Terms

OAuth 2.0
An authorization framework that allows third-party applications to access user resources without sharing passwords.
OWASP Top 10
A regularly updated list of the ten most critical web application security risks, published by the Open Web Application Security Project.
Security Headers
HTTP response headers that instruct browsers to enable security features like XSS protection, framing prevention, and content type enforcement.
DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing)
Testing a running application from the outside by sending malicious requests to discover security vulnerabilities.
PKI (Public Key Infrastructure)
A framework of policies, hardware, and software for creating, managing, distributing, and revoking digital certificates.
XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)
An attack that injects malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users, potentially stealing data or session tokens.
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