The Urgent API Security Concern for Enterprises

Modern software runs on an explosion of APIs, yet those same APIs are increasingly the target of sophisticated threats. Today’s enterprises manage countless APIs—some well-documented, many undiscovered. Each can pose a serious risk if left unprotected. These APIs are often vulnerable to attacks such as business logic flaws and missing access controls.

API attack leads to at least 10x more breached records than an average cybersecurity breach.

In this research, Gartner emphasizes the urgent need for enterprises to address API security and develop comprehensive security strategies.

What do you need to know about API Security?

API security is not just the job of one person or one team; it falls to multiple stakeholders to build stringent security rules from development to runtime. This means that development, security, operations, and infrastructure teams are all involved in building your API security program.

We've seen an industry shift away from focusing solely on runtime protection toward Discovery and testing. Organizations and security leaders are now considering API security from a more proactive perspective.

Many API security issues are due to misconfigurations with ‘rogue’ and ‘zombie’ APIs. - Gartner

Knowing where your APIs are and what risks they may pose should be a top priority for all application security leaders. This is where Akto can help; we are redefining the space with the code to runtime comprehensive approach to API Security.

Key Takeaways from Gartner Research for an Effective API Security Maturity Model

1. Define the Scope and Identify Stakeholders

Each organization's API security needs are unique, depending on their specific use cases and architectural designs. There's no one-size-fits-all approach. Clearly define the full scope of your API security project at the very beginning.

A successful API security initiative requires collaboration across multiple teams, not just those directly involved in security. As you start your API Security program, identify the key stakeholders - development, security, platform, infrastructure, and Identity and Access Management (IAM) for each step in the program.

2. Develop an API Security Policy

Gartner suggests organizations develop and implement API security policies throughout the lifecycle of the API. You should develop policies that cover data security measures, credential management protocols, rate-limiting controls, and access control mechanisms.

Ensure that the policies remain implementation-neutral, allowing different teams to adapt them to their specific contexts while maintaining consistent security standards.

3. Enforce Access Control

Controlling access to APIs is a fundamental aspect of API security. Strong access control mechanisms are essential to prevent unauthorized access and potential data breaches.

API-related breaches have compromised over 1.6 billion records, highlighting the critical need for robust API security measures. - Gartner

Implementing OAuth 2.0 and using tokens instead of API keys will help teams stay ahead of access control breaches. Additionally, organizations should implement role-based access control (RBAC) to restrict API access based on user roles, use JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for secure information transmission, and regularly audit and review access permissions.

Remember that access control should be implemented at multiple layers, including the API gateway, application, and database levels.

4. Perform Continuous API Discovery, Testing and Posture Management

API Discovery and testing have become crucial proactive security measures. Recently, Gartner has emphasized these areas in API security. By discovering your complete API security ecosystem—its vulnerabilities and risks to sensitive data—and testing those vulnerabilities, your team can fix issues before malicious actors find them. Maintaining a strong API security posture through a unified platform ensures your code repository analysis is audit-ready.

Critical techniques Gartner recommends for discovery include traffic inspection, code repository inspection, container instrumentation (such as Kubernetes DaemonSet or Sidecar), kernel-level monitoring (Linux eBPF), web application crawling, analysis of mobile applications to detect API calls, and enumeration of APIs already registered at API gateways and in other infrastructure. Akto is the only platform that discovers APIs through 50+ connectors from code to runtime—including code repos, traffic, sidecar, eBPF, gateways, SDKs, and cloud connectors—making it the industry leader in comprehensive API discovery.

Critical techniques Gartner recommends for API Security Testing include using API traffic to test and not swagger or open API spec files as inputs.

Many traditional DAST tools still do not support API discovery, and require a descriptor file (such as a Swagger file) instead to test the API.

This recommendation aligns with Akto’s differentiated approach to API scanning, eliminating the need for application security teams to rely on OpenAPI specifications or Postman collections. Instead, it offers automated scanning by discovering APIs directly from traffic, requiring no manual input.

5. Implement Runtime Protection for Highly Regulated Environments

Gartner recommends enhancing existing WAFs with API runtime protection specifically for highly regulated environments. This service should be paired with larger SOC or managed services since runtime protection generates alerts that require manual review to determine their value.

How can Akto help with your API Security Strategy?

Akto is a Gartner-recognized leader in application security, offering a full Suite API security platform to help organizations secure their APIs throughout the development life cycle.

Akto serves Enterprise Modern Appsec teams to build an enterprise-grade API security program throughout their DevSecOps pipeline. Our industry-leading suite of — API discovery, API security posture management, sensitive data exposure, and API security testing solutions enables organizations to gain visibility in their API security posture. 1,000+ Appsec teams globally trust Akto for their API security needs.

By automating security processes and integrating perfectly into CI/CD development pipelines, Akto enables early detection and remediation of vulnerabilities, ensuring APIs remain strong and secure in an ever-changing threat landscape.

Want to learn more? Book a demo today to discover how Akto can secure your API ecosystem and enhance the organization’s API security strategy.

How to read Gartner’s Guide to API Security?

Gartner’s latest guide on API security is available on Gartner’s website.

You can also read Akto’s key takeaways from last year’s Market Guide for API Security here.

Get Your 2025 Plan for API Security

To enable appsec leaders with API Security program strategy, we published the 2025 API Security Plan here. Read on and consult Akto for the comprehensive API Security program implementation.

Final Thoughts

Today, API Security is critical for Enterprise Appsec strategy. With the rising number of API-related breaches and the complexity of managing countless APIs, organizations must adopt a comprehensive approach that includes proper discovery, testing, and runtime protection.

By following these key recommendations and leveraging solutions like Akto that align with Gartner's guidance, enterprises can better protect their APIs throughout the API development lifecycle and stay ahead of emerging API threats.

This guide is based on key takeaways from research from Gartner and industry best practices in API security. To access the research, navigate to Gartner’s website. For specific implementation details, consult with Akto security experts.