2024 API Security & Management Report

The Internet is an endless flow of conversations between computers. These conversations often take place using application programming interfaces (APIs), which allow us to interact with software and apps in new ways. For instance, OpenAI’s ChatGPT API enables Slack to streamline chat-based workflows, and Booking.com to deliver more personalized trip planning experiences.

Today, APIs outpace other Internet traffic, comprising more than half (57%) of the dynamic Internet traffic processed by Cloudflare1 last year.

However, as explored in this 2023 API Security and Management Report, APIs are increasingly complex to manage and protect against abuse.

For instance, many organizations lack accurate information on their APIs. Cloudflare found 30.7% more API endpoints through machine learning-based discovery, compared to what organizations self-reported.

Unfortunately, organizations cannot properly defend what they cannot see.

Those that implement API security without an accurate, real-time picture of their API landscape can unintentionally block legitimate traffic.