{"id":490,"date":"2021-11-21T12:14:05","date_gmt":"2021-11-21T12:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apimike.com\/?p=490"},"modified":"2023-10-04T05:31:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T05:31:43","slug":"api-penetration-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apimike.com\/api-penetration-testing","title":{"rendered":"API Penetration Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is an API (Application User Interface)?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some people may ask, what does that mean? It’s a software used by many web applications and is responsible for information transfer between systems. And it\u2019s here to stay. It will only grow bigger, with many industries making use of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

API is used by programmers, mobile apps, web applications, and many industries. The average person engages with API without being aware of it. API increasing growth comes with many threats, and that is where API security testing comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, just like everything else, API\u2019s would be vulnerable to abuse, threats, manipulation and misdemeanor. Because of this, many companies would install some sort of testing methods or testers to make sure there is no weakness in the code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Learn<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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If you wish to learn why is Api Security important for business today<\/a> follow the link. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is penetration testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can consider a penetration test a digital “tune-up,” meant to pinpoint vulnerabilities in your network that a hacker might exploit. A penetration test, also known as a pen test, is a simulated cyber attack against your computer system to check for exploitable vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

API Penetration testing involves all processes of checking for vulnerabilities and building strong endpoints in your APIs.  One of the most common web application threats is API abuse, which can cause hindrances to the smooth running of any digital industry. Issues like data leakage, unauthorized access, and parameter tampering can arise with any deployed APIs if they don\u2019t undergo comprehensive security testing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Importance of API Security Testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Data transfer has become one of the integral parts of digital connectivity. Modern web applications and mobile applications deal with the exchange of high volumes of important data, e.g., medical records, personal identification, bank records, and these can attract the attention of hackers. Insecure APIs are easy to access for hackers, so a secured and tested API should be used to avoid sensitive information being exposed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top Security Issues in API<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To create more awareness of the APIs security threats affecting digital organizations, the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) highlights the top 10 (ten) threats affecting APIs, some of which includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excessive Data Exposure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Website programmers and developers tend to expose objects without considering individual security. This results in excessive data exposure, which can lead to API abuse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security Misconfiguration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Insecure APIs, insecure default configuration, open cloud storage, error messages showing sensitive information, incomplete ad-hoc configurations, misconfigured HTTP headers, and other security issues all result from security misconfiguration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broken Function Authorization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Access control policies with complicated hierarchy, groups, and unclear separation of administrative and regular roles can lead to authorization errors. Web hackers can gain access to these administrative functions and exploit their uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improper Asset Management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

APIs are structured in a way that more endpoints are exposed, making them require structured updates. Outdated API versions and exposed endpoints increase web attacks. You can create a detailed list of deployed API versions and configure hosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Injection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

SQL injection, command injection, and NoSQL injection are all types of injection flaws that involve sending data from an unknown source to an interpreter through a query or a command. Hackers and web attackers can disguise and send data to an interpreter requesting they execute dangerous commands. This gives the attacker access to any information without authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insufficient Logging and Monitoring<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Organizations that lack incident response integration and insufficient logging and monitoring can fall victim to attackers as they will gain access to the system, deepen, extract, and destroy data. The importance of constant API monitoring cannot be overemphasized as it will enable you to detect persistent threats and take necessary measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common types of API Security Testing are: Dynamic API security tests, Software composition analysis, and Static API security tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is REST and SOAP API?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

REST (Representational State Transfer)<\/strong> is an API design style. In other words, it is a set of instructions designers follow when designing an API. REST is quite popular among established companies like YouTube, Facebook, and WordPress as they deliver fast performance, more progression, and reliability. This platform-independent style can be used in any language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a standard messaging protocol system used for interchanging data in a distributed environment. SOAP can work with any operation style and language that supports web services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CHOOSING A TOOL FROM THE TOOLBOX<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

????Always consider a CI\/CD solution as your first steps for a more secure API, one of the common solutions is BLST Security Cherrybomb<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A solution to API Penetration Testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

BLST Security – automatic penetration tester<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cBLST security focuses on business logic attacks to provide more information, higher impact, and perfect working conditions.\u201d<\/p>\nBLST Security<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For each type of endpoint, security experts carefully study any write-up and also examine all headers, parameters, and requests. The team also takes into consideration the nature of the business and industry and gathers necessary information on software and infrastructure. Deliverables<\/p>\n\n\n\n