Nov 202 min read

API Security: Why Design Matters

Ensuring that you have robust API security measures to address these security threats takes more than just a checklist.

You need to think about how to design securely publishing and managing APIs. This design considers the controls required during the API lifecycle, client authentication, and protection of sensitive data.

Here are our Top 8 design principles to apply when designing for API Security.

Maintain segregation of APIs between trust domains and environments

Ensure that there is a clear separation and allocation of access privileges, further enhancing the security and integrity of data. This practice not only assists in preventing unauthorized access but also contributes significantly to the effective management and maintenance of each environment and trust domain.

Encrypted communication channels such as HTTPS are applied for APIs

Encrypted communication channels, such as HTTPS, are utilised when developing APIs to ensure the security and integrity of data. These secure channels help protect sensitive information from being intercepted or manipulated during transmission over the Internet, providing peace of mind for both the sender and receiver.

Design APIs to be protected against both external and internal threats

APIs must be designed to be robust and secure to protect against a wide range of threats.

Adopting a ‘zero trust’ approach to APIs means regardless of whether APIs are exposed internally or externally, the security measures employed should be comprehensive and safeguarding the APIs from any potential threats.

Validate and inspect traffic flows to APIs via API Gateways

Ensure that traffic flow to APIs is regularly validated and inspected through the use of API Gateways. This is crucial in maintaining the integrity of the APIs, as the gateways serve as the point of enforcement for consistent security measures. As an added benefit, these also provide analytics and usage data, which are important in managing the overall performance of APIs.

Apply authentication and authorisation against all endpoint clients

The process involves implementing authentication and authorization protocols across a range of entities, including internal stakeholders, partner organisations, and public clients. The aim is to ensure a robust, secure system that verifies user identity, confirms permissions, and guards against unauthorised access, thereby maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of the system at all times.

Maintain security attributes for APIs

This involves consistently updating and reviewing security protocols, handling user permissions, and managing data access to keep the APIs secure and functional.

Apply access restrictions to APIs for environments hosting sensitive or high-value data

This is specifically important for environments that host such valuable information. By doing so, we can prevent unauthorised access, thereby providing an additional layer of security to our data infrastructure.

Apply uniform security policies within API Gateway for inbound and outbound traffic flows for APIs

Ensure the application of comprehensive and uniform security policies within the API Gateway. These policies should be implemented for all inbound, outbound, and mediated traffic flows associated with APIs. Whether the traffic is incoming, outgoing, or being mediated, all should be governed by these security policies to ensure the safe and secure operation of the APIs.