Advanced API Security Techniques and Service Management
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63282/3050-922X.IJERET-V3I4P108Keywords:
API Security, OAuth 2.0, JWT, API Gateway, Zero Trust, TLS, mTLS, Anomaly Detection, Service MeshAbstract
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) provide the enabling layer behind smooth communication among different systems, platforms, and devices in the digital age. As much as APIs spur the speed of innovation, they subject the organization to an ever-increasing list of security threats. The following paper will discuss some of the most sophisticated methods of API security and the current efficient approaches to managing services to give an overall outlook on how a modern system can be secured against the emerging threats. The paper starts with a description of modern API architectures and types of threat vectors used to breach these architectures, such as injection attacks, broken authentication, and excessive data exposure. It explores the OWASP API Security Top 10 to highlight the worst vulnerabilities. More advanced security controls (ink token-based authentication (OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and JWT)), API gateways, rate limiting, mutual TLS, and Zero Trust principles are covered. The role of AI/ML in anomaly detection and the necessity of real-time monitoring and testing with the help of fuzzing tools are also discussed in the paper. The paper also identifies security in addition to API lifecycle governance, policy enforcement, and service mesh integration (e.g. Istio and Envoy), amidst other practices as critical service management practices. Current real-life case studies, such as API-based supply chain and telecommunication API breaches, will be examined to underline the practical significance of effective security systems. Lastly, the future, including AI-enabled cybersecurity, quantum unfriendliness, and API security with IoT and 5G, is explored
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