With the increasing exposure of APIs in software development and service delivery, APIs are now commonly used as a medium for businesses to exchange data with their customers and partners. This also means that APIs are more exposed to security threats than ever before.

In this blog post, we will explore what API penetration testing is and why it is necessary for your business – including some best practices for how to perform your own penetration test.

What is API Penetration Testing?

API penetration testing is the process of testing a service’s API for any vulnerabilities that could lead to an attack. This type of Pentesting can be approached in two different ways – Black box pentesting and White box pentesting.

Black box pentesting is when testers do not have access to the source code and therefore must attempt to identify vulnerabilities through the user interface, network, and any other external points of entry.

White box pentesting is when testers have access to the source code and can therefore look for vulnerabilities in the programming code.

White box and Black box approaches can be used in combination with API pentesting as it can be helpful to use a black box approach to identify any high-priority issues, and then use a White box approach to get a better understanding of the root cause of those issues.

Moreover, API pentesting helps to identify the vulnerabilities of your API and fix them before the potential of an attack. That way, you’re protected and ready to go!

Why is API Penetration Testing Important?

The security of your APIs is an important part of protecting the security of your company as a whole. If you’re not prepared to deal with the consequences of a breach in your API, your customers and partners can be impacted, affecting your reputation and their relationship with your company. If you’re not prepared, you may also be dealing with costly repercussions including fines and losses in revenue for the disruption, remedial costs for fixing the breach, and reputational damage. API pentesting is an important part of your security strategy.

Best Practices for Successful API Penetration Testing

• Identify vulnerabilities through as many points of entry as possible – While it may be tempting to focus on the most exciting and sensational vulnerabilities, you must make sure you’re covering all your bases. Make sure you understand all the different potential points of entry for an attack, like the network, the user interface, and the data being exchanged through the API.
• Identify vulnerabilities in both the functional and non-functional areas – This is another way of saying be thorough. You don’t want to overlook any potential vulnerability in your API.
• Use a combination of manual and automated methods – While automated tools can help you identify vulnerabilities in your API, they are not as perfect always as a manual approach.
• Identify potential root causes of vulnerabilities – This approach helps you understand the full impact of a potential vulnerability.
• Focus on the critical APIs – Make sure you know which APIs are the most critical to your business, and make sure you test those the most.
• Don’t forget to test the environment – It would be a best practice to test the production environment that API is currently running.

Limiting your focus to the most critical APIs

It’s simply not possible to test every single API in your environment and while you might have a prioritized list of vulnerabilities you want to address; you should also consider testing the APIs that are most frequently used by your customers and partners. This makes it easy to identify vulnerabilities related to those APIs and address them quickly and minimize the disruption to your business as a whole.

A Checklist of Vulnerabilities to Focus on:

• Network Vulnerabilities – Network vulnerabilities can include unsecured ports, exposed databases, and other entry points that an attacker could potentially use to access your API or other systems.
• User Interface Issues – Issues with the user interface can include default log-in credentials, insecure authentication methods, and other issues that could expose your API credentials.
• Data Issues – Data issues can include things like unencrypted data, data integrity issues, and other issues that could result in data being accessed by an attacker.
• Implementation Issues – Implementation issues can include issues with the code implementation, security design, or other implementation-based issues that could expose your API.

Conclusion

You cannot afford to ignore the potential risk associated with an unprotected API, or you may find yourself dealing with a breach. It’s important to perform API penetration testing on a regular basis to make sure you’re identifying vulnerabilities and fixing them before they cause a breach. If you’re not sure where to start, make sure you follow the tips for success above to make sure your API penetration testing is effective.