Lurking in the Shadows: Attack Trends Shine Light on API Threats 

This year marks 10 years of Akamai’s sharing of security research via our State of the Internet (SOTI) reports. The focus of these reports has changedover the years as both the operational and threat ecosystems have evolved. Starting in 2024, instead of looking at web application and API attacks as one single subject, we will use a new data set that allows Akamai researchers to distinguish between the two types of attacks. In this report, we focus on the percentage of web attacks that are targeting APIs (for more details, please read the Methodology section). This will help us better understand how adversaries are attacking APIs and offer more effective mitigation strategies.

APIs are foundational to many of the recent changes within companies that have improved both employee and customer experiences. Unfortunately, this digital innovation and the rapid expansion of the API economy have presented cybercriminals with new opportunities for exploitation. Therefore, visibility is a critical aspect of API security. Once blind spots like shadow APIs or rogue APIs are illuminated, security teams can start to address vulnerabilities that they were previously unaware of.

In this first SOTI report of 2024, we highlight the array of attacks that are hitting APIs, including traditional web attacks, and tackle the dangers of API abuse through common problem areas such as posture and runtime challenges that we have visibility into via our data. Additionally, we illustrate the dangers by industry and region so you can more accurately evaluate the risk to your company. We also present several real-world case studies, reinforce compliance requirements, and show how legislation trends can shape your security strategies. We conclude the report with steps to improve your visibility into your API landscape, which can enhance your overall security posture.