Businesses, especially manufacturers in Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ), are at risk as malicious players exploit APIs to launch attacks, according to Akamai Technologies, Inc.’s State of The Internet (SOTI) report.
The report reveals that 15% of overall web attacks in APJ targeted APIs in 2023, with the manufacturing sector suffering the most API-targeted attacks across industries (31.2%).
“APIs are increasingly critical to organisations, but they are also challenged with protecting APIs effectively, as security is often not properly baked into the rapid development and deployment processes of newer technologies like APIs,” said Reuben Koh, Security Technology and Strategy director (APJ), Akamai.
Common problem areas
Gaming (25.2%), high tech (24.4%), video media (24.0%), and commerce (22.3%) follow manufacturing the highest percentage of web attacks that targeted APIs.
South Korea (47.9%), Indonesia (39.6%), Hong Kong SAR (38.7%), Malaysia (26.4%), and Japan (23.4%) lead the regions with the highest percentage of web attacks targeting APIs.
Enhancing security
Koh suggests companies in APJ ensure APIs are discovered, documented, and have complete visibility into their purpose and the risks.
“Businesses also need to keep themselves updated on API threats - especially on emerging ones like API business logic abuse - and follow industry guidelines to protect against misconfiguration and vulnerabilities. Our new report provides key insights to help organisations leverage best practices to enhance security, as the use of APIs becomes more prevalent across all industries,” said Koh.