What are Managed API Security Services?

Managed API security services act as a seamless extension of your in-house security team, empowering it with focused skillsets and operational capabilities that can help you get a better understanding of the API attack landscape, and take the necessary steps to prevent cyberattacks from exploiting API vulnerabilities that result in data loss, fraud and business disruption. In addition, with managed services, organizations can more efficiently leverage a subscription-based approach to API security, allowing you to pay as per your need, giving you the flexibility to scale the API security service on-demand to meet the growing needs of your business.

Why are Managed Services for API Security Important?

APIs are an integral building block of digital transformation. In their quest to transform their business, organizations have built a huge API footprint comprised of internal and external APIs. As a result, APIs are influencing every aspect of digital transformation, from creating operational efficiencies to delivering highly engaging customer experiences. As more and more APIs enter the IT ecosystem it results in API sprawl made up of shadow, or unknown APIs, unsecured APIs, and some with vulnerabilities waiting to be exploited by cybercriminals.

Organizations have realized the importance of securing APIs, but this is easier said than done. Existing solutions do not have the scope and scale required to protect a constantly moving target like an API. They have limited features and functionalities, and cannot stop an API from becoming one of the weakest links in an organization from a security perspective. Therefore, the chance of such unsecured APIs being used as an attack vector is very high.

There is also a question of security skillsets, wherein personnel do not have the length and breadth of expertise needed to secure APIs. More importantly, the right kind of talent is in short supply, which impacts an organization’s ability to navigate the complexity of the API security landscape. The use of legacy products for API security and a skills shortage leaves considerable gaps in API security. There is, therefore, a need to up the ante on API security with a new approach and mindset and keep costs in check.

What are the Qualities of the Ideal Managed Services?

One critical component that will help you gain more visibility into the API sprawl and unmanaged API proliferation is API discovery and risk monitoring services, which helps organizations discover the extent of their API attack surface and build an API inventory that is always up to date. Both services will bring down API risk posture by a long way.

Another critical element of an end-to-end managed service for API security is that it leverages massive amounts of constantly updated threat intelligence to conduct comprehensive real-time threat monitoring and delivers vital insights that will help your organization’s security team improve existing security policies. A threat research team will also provide necessary guidance on integration and optimization that will strengthen your API security posture. This will also help you implement security protocols that will immediately address identified threats with the correct remedial measures.

While you must evaluate a managed API security services provider based on its security offerings and how they can address your underlying security challenges, you must also give due importance to the team of cybersecurity experts whose skills will be crucial to securing your APIs. Work with service providers whose team has experience in managing API security for organizations across diverse domains, irrespective of their scale or scope.

How Does a Managed Services Provider Deliver End-to-End API Protection?

A reputed managed security services provider will act as a key enabler of API protection by extending the skillsets and expertise of your existing team to help them scale effectively to meet the growing security challenges of a rapidly expanding API sprawl. The focus is always on optimizing API protection with features that can help you stay one step ahead of an evolving threat landscape.

Cequence offers features like API attack surface discovery, runtime inventory and provides deployment assistance with API Spyder and API Sentinel to ensure optimal configuration and continuous visibility. This will enable you to get visibility into the API risk profile and how to plug security gaps. Cequence’s Managed API Security Services also include risk remediation that provides guidance on actionable steps such as access controls, firewall rule recommendations, and more that will help your security team address a broad swathe of API security concerns. Couple this with comprehensive reporting that delivers information about attack surface and API runtime vulnerabilities, and you can build a highly secure API ecosystem.

With features like proactive threat protection, Cequence enables advanced API monitoring for detecting advanced cyberattacks that can pass under the radar of traditional mitigation techniques. Cequence’s threat research team creates a practical blueprint that improves detection and mitigation. Other features, such as threat consulting, reporting, policy review, optimization, and more, ensure your organization benefits from all-encompassing threat protection that checks all the boxes.