// APIS
API Security Essentials
The API risks we find most often in assessments, and the authentication and rate-limiting patterns that actually prevent them.
Broken authentication is more common than broken cryptography
Most API compromises we see don't involve breaking encryption  they involve authentication that was implemented inconsistently across endpoints. One forgotten unauthenticated debug route can undermine an otherwise solid API.
Rate limiting is a security control, not just a performance one
Without rate limiting, credential stuffing and enumeration attacks against an API are trivial. It's one of the highest-value, lowest-effort controls to add, and it's still frequently missing entirely.
Excessive data exposure hides in 'convenient' responses
APIs that return full database objects because it's convenient for the frontend team routinely leak fields the client never uses  internal IDs, other users' data, or fields meant to be admin-only. Trim responses to exactly what's needed.
Document your API, then test the parts you didn't document
Shadow and deprecated endpoints are a recurring finding  routes that still work but aren't in current documentation or monitoring. If it's reachable, it's in scope, documented or not.
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