Shadow APIs pose an increased risk for organizations of all sizes because they can hide malicious behavior and cause massive data loss. For those unfamiliar with the term, a shadow API is a type of application programming interface (API) that is not officially documented or supported.
Contrary to popular belief, it’s unfortunately all too common to have APIs in production that none of your operations or security teams know about. Enterprises manage thousands of APIs, many of which are not routed through proxies such as API gateways and web application firewalls. This means they are unmonitored, largely unaudited, and the most vulnerable.
Shadow APIs are invisible to security teams, providing hackers with an unprotected avenue to exploit vulnerabilities. These APIs can be manipulated by malicious actors to gain access to sensitive information ranging from customer addresses to company financial records. Preventing unauthorized access via shadow APIs has become mission critical given the potential for mass data breaches and serious compliance violations.
To help you get started, explore how APIs can be hidden and explain how shadow APIs can be used for malicious purposes. You’ll also learn the importance of monitoring API usage and traffic, and how to identify shadow APIs and mitigate risk with dedicated security controls.
How the API is hidden
Lack of API visibility can be caused by a number of factors, including poor API management, lack of governance, and inadequate documentation. Without good governance, an organization risks having too many APIs that are not effectively utilized.
The majority of shadow APIs are due to employee turnover. Frankly, the developers don’t share all of their tribal knowledge when they depart for new opportunities. And with the developer job market so hot, it’s easy to see how this happens. Especially given the number of projects they’re working on. Even well-meaning employees can overlook something during a handover.
Some APIs have been carried over as a result of mergers and acquisitions, which are often forgotten. Inventory loss or non-existence can occur during system integration, a complex and difficult task. Large companies that acquire multiple small businesses are particularly at risk. Small businesses are more likely to have poorly documented APIs.
Another reason is that poorly secured APIs and known vulnerabilities are still in use. During an upgrade, you may have to run older versions of software alongside newer versions. Unfortunately, the person responsible for eventually deactivating the API either leaves the company, is given a new task, or forgets to delete the previous version.
Do you know how many APIs you have? Better yet, do you know if they expose sensitive data? If you struggle with shadow APIs in your environment, The Definitive Guide to API Discovery From No Name Security. Learn how to find and fix all APIs, regardless of type.
How hackers take advantage of shadow APIs
Shadow APIs are powerful tools for malicious actors to circumvent security measures to access sensitive data or disrupt operations. Hackers can use shadow APIs to perform various attacks such as data exfiltration, account takeover, and privilege escalation. It can also be used for reconnaissance purposes, gathering information about a target’s critical systems and networks.
As if that wasn’t dangerous enough, hackers can bypass authentication and authorization controls via shadow APIs and gain access to privileged accounts that can be used to launch more sophisticated attacks. All without the knowledge of your organization’s security team. For example, his API attacks have begun to surface in the automotive industry, putting drivers and passengers in extreme danger.
By abusing APIs, cybercriminals can obtain sensitive customer data such as customer addresses, credit card information from quotes, and VIN numbers. Vulnerabilities in these exploited APIs can also expose vehicle locations and allow hackers to compromise remote management systems. This means cybercriminals can unlock the vehicle, start the engine, or disable the starter entirely.
As organizations increasingly rely on cloud-based services, exposing shadow APIs becomes increasingly important to protect data and systems from malicious actors.
How to identify and mitigate shadow API risks
Identifying shadow APIs is an important part of API security. This includes discovering all APIs running in your environment, understanding their purpose, and ensuring they are safe. This can be done using the API Discovery Tool which scans all the APIs running in your environment and provides detailed information about them.
Using these tools, organizations can identify shadow APIs that may exist in their environment and take steps to protect them before they become a greater security risk. . This includes monitoring network traffic for suspicious activity, conducting regular vulnerability scans, and ensuring that all API requests are authenticated.
Once identified, organizations should take steps to mitigate the risks associated with these APIs, such as implementing data encryption, restricting access privileges, and enforcing security policies. Additionally, organizations should implement appropriate logging systems so that unauthorized access attempts can be quickly identified and addressed.
Find and Eliminate Shadow APIs with Noname Security
Now that we’ve made it to the end, let’s summarize the task at hand so that we can really understand it. The bottom line is that shadow APIs present unique challenges for organizations like yours. Hackers offer a way to hide their activities as they are often difficult to detect and track. At the very least, it is a threat to data security and privacy.
That being said, Noname Security helps you accurately track all APIs, especially shadow APIs. Provides a single pane of glass for complete visibility into all your data sources, whether on-premises or in the cloud.
Their API security platform can monitor load balancers, API gateways, and web application firewalls, so you can discover and catalog all kinds of APIs: HTTP, RESTful, GraphQL, SOAP, XML-RPC, JSON-RPC, gRPC, and more. increase. Believe it or not, a customer typically finds 40% more APIs in his environment than he previously thought.
To learn more about API discovery and how Noname Security can help you understand your shadow APIs, we recommend downloading the new APIs. The Definitive Guide to API Discovery.
