Ep 302 API attacks, discovery, and resilience for federal agencies

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Cybersecurity is a rapidly evolving field, where every effective defense technique is quickly noticed and adapted to by malicious actors. The real question is how fast each side of this ongoing cat-and-mouse game can respond.

Let us take an example of web applications. In the decade-long slog of the cloud, federal users migrated to web-based applications protected by Web Application Firewalls (WAFs). firewalls. As that method matured, malicious observers noted that the Application Programming Interface (API) allowed these software programs to communicate and exchange data.

Voila, another attack vector was born. During today's interview, Joe Henry from Akamai Technologies notes that 80% of their customers report API attacks.

Henry details a curious term called "Broken-Object Level Authorization." In this attack, an application fails to check if a user is authorized to access specific data objects. The ID is manipulated, and the malicious actor gets access.

Akamai's API Security performs behavioral analysis beyond WAFs, flags PII exposure, and supports a zero-trust posture.

Software developers talk about a "shift left"; we apply that to the Akamai approach. They have a worldwide network of Points of Presence (POPs) and data centers where they can observe attacks as they develop. It is so strong that it provides fail-open resilience with a 100% SLA.

Akamai provides a State of the Internet Report (quarterly). If you would like to stay connected with the next manifestation of attack, consider subscribing or visiting their website to stay informed about the latest trend