API security is gaining attention, yet many organizations struggle to move from identifying risks to mitigating them effectively. In their eagerness to strengthen their security posture, some rush to implement schema protection. However, the dynamic and often incomplete nature of API schemas soon reveals a critical gap; schema enforcement alone is not enough for comprehensive API security.
A more effective approach involves improving API security posture before moving to runtime enforcement. This ensures that security measures are applied meaningfully and efficiently. Using Imperva API Security, organizations can follow a structured, three-step approach: Discovery, Risk Assessment, and Mitigation.
Step 1: Discovery—Making APIs Visible
Organizations cannot secure what they cannot see. API discovery helps uncover all exposed APIs, including undocumented ones, and categorizes them based on data sensitivity. Imperva API Security automates this process through cloud and on-premises solutions, providing visibility into API traffic and classifying data types.
With this visibility, security teams can prioritize APIs that handle sensitive information, ensuring that protection efforts are focused where they matter most.
Step 2: Risk Assessment—Understanding API Weaknesses
Once APIs are identified, the next step is to assess their security posture. API risks can range from authentication gaps to vulnerabilities like Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA). A common misconception is that schema enforcement alone can prevent these risks. However, schema enforcement business logic flaws, misconfigured access controls, or the exposure of sensitive data.
Imperva’s risk assessment engine analyzes API traffic patterns, highlights potential attack surfaces, and identifies high-risk endpoints. This approach provides security teams with actionable insights, allowing them to focus on the most pressing threats.
Step 3: Mitigation—Building a Layered Defense
Effective mitigation is a combination of shift-left security and runtime protection:
Shift-Left Security Posture Improvement:
- Generate API schemas from discovery results to guide development teams.
- Assess API schemas for security best practices, ensuring they are well-structured and resilient.
- Implement strong authentication and access controls.
- Conduct security testing to identify vulnerabilities before deployment.
- Leverage schema assessment tools to analyze API definitions for security weaknesses (e.g., missing parameter validation, undefined access controls).
Runtime Protection:
- Apply schema enforcement selectively on well-defined, stable APIs (e.g., admin and transactional APIs). Imperva allows organizations to prioritize enforcement for APIs where schemas are reliable, minimizing disruptions.
- Use bot protection to prevent automated attacks on API endpoints. Imperva’s API Security integrates with Advanced Bot Protection (ABP) to block bot-driven API reconnaissance attempts.
- Detect and respond to runtime risks such as BOLA, excessive data exposure, and deprecated APIs. Imperva’s API Security engine continuously monitors API sessions and flags suspicious activity, helping prevent unauthorized data access.
- Implement fine-grained security policies, such as blocking unauthenticated API calls or applying anomaly detection to identify deviations from normal behavior.
How Imperva Helps Customers Implement the Three-Step API Security Framework
Imperva takes a comprehensive approach to API security, delivering a more effective and holistic solution.
- Schema Generation from API Discovery – Many organizations lack complete API schemas. Imperva can generate schema templates from discovered APIs, giving security teams a starting point to improve API definitions.
- Schema Validation and Assessment – Imperva’s schema assessment tool checks API definitions for security gaps, such as missing authentication parameters or weak validation rules, ensuring they meet best practices before enforcement.
- Selective Schema Enforcement – Instead of enforcing schemas across all APIs, Imperva allows organizations to apply schema protection only to well-defined, stable APIs, reducing false positives and operational overhead.
- Runtime Risk Detection Beyond Schema Validation – Imperva’s risk assessment engine goes beyond schema enforcement by detecting business logic attacks, BOLA exploits, and other API security risks that schemas alone cannot address.
- Bot Protection and Anomaly Detection – Automated threats often probe APIs for weaknesses. Imperva integrates bot protection with API security to prevent automated attacks before they lead to exploitation.
- Access Control Insights – Imperva identifies unauthenticated API endpoints and provides actionable recommendations to enforce proper authentication mechanisms, addressing risks that schema validation alone cannot mitigate.
Why a Hybrid Approach Works Best
Many security teams want a quick fix, but the reality is that API security requires an ongoing, layered approach. Jumping straight into runtime enforcement without improving API hygiene leads to inefficiencies, unnecessary blocking, and frustration.
By following this three-step process, organizations can take a structured, risk-based approach that prioritizes security improvements before enabling enforcement mechanisms. Imperva API Security provides the tools to support this journey, helping organizations secure APIs effectively without unnecessary friction. Imperva’s risk assessment engine analyzes API traffic patterns, highlights potential attack surfaces, and identifies high-risk endpoints. This approach provides security teams with actionable insights, allowing them to focus on the most pressing threats.
For security teams struggling with API risks, the key takeaway is this: visibility first, assessment second, enforcement last. By addressing API security systematically, organizations can move from confusion and frustration to confidence and control.
Take Action Today
Don’t let API security gaps put your organization at risk. Start strengthening your API security posture today with Imperva API Security. Schedule a Demo to see how Imperva can help you discover, assess, and protect your APIs. Your APIs are the backbone of your digital business, secure them the right way with Imperva.
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