What is SD-WAN? A Smarter Approach to Wide Area Network Management SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) is a software-based technology designed to simplify and optimize the management of wide area networks. Unlike traditional WAN architectures, SD-WAN enables intelligent control of traffic flow, improves bandwidth utilization, and enhances overall network performance. [...]
API security involves securing the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of application programming interfaces (APIs), both those developed internally and consumed from third parties. As APIs become the backbone of modern applications—especially in microservices and containerized environments—they also become prime targets for attackers. Misconfigured or exposed APIs are frequently responsible for major data breaches.
Transport Layer Security (TLS):
REST APIs typically operate over HTTP or HTTPS. TLS encryption ensures data exchanged between a client and a server remains private and unaltered during transit. This is essential for protecting sensitive transactions from eavesdropping or tampering.
Authentication:
Proper authentication ensures that only verified users can access the API. While basic authentication may suffice for some use cases, more secure methods such as OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect are recommended for robust identity verification.
Authorization:
Access control should be enforced to restrict authenticated users to only permitted resources. For instance, a read-only API client must not be allowed to access administrative endpoints. This is best achieved through role-based access control (RBAC).
Schema Validation and Payload Inspection:
Validating API requests against defined schemas helps prevent injection attacks, malicious declarations, and parser exploits. Enforcing strict input structures significantly reduces the risk surface.
Tokenization and Monitoring:
Assigning unique tokens to each API request helps verify their origin and intent. Continuous monitoring of API activity allows the detection of anomalous patterns and unauthorized access attempts.
Imperva’s API security platform supports the implementation of a positive security model. It enhances visibility into API traffic and automates threat detection through authentication, authorization, schema validation, and payload inspection. This enables organizations to build resilient, secure APIs and proactively defend against sophisticated attacks.
