The rise of APIs (Application Programming Interface) like REST and SOAP have made it possible for a variety of software to pass information back and forth with much less lifting on the development side. From a security perspective, it’s critically important your tools work together – having a set of disparate tools that don’t communicate with each other is bound to leave you exposed. Thankfully the Portnox API supports a wide variety of integrations.
Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours on the phone with support, trying to get all your different security tools to work together…or spending more than the solution actually costs on professional services to achieve this same goal. Portnox has several out-of-the-box integrations for a variety of vendors – from Aruba to Zytel, we’ll integrate into the fabric of your zero trust security architecture.
From identity providers to MDM and SIEM solutions, Portnox fits right in. We have several out-of-the-box guides for the most common integrations, and we’ll help you get everything up and running so you can rest assured your network is protected.
Rest API
The following can help mitigate API attacks and secure REST API:
Not all REST APIs are web services but all web services are APIs. A standardized architecture style for creating a web Service API is called RESTful API. The utilization of HTTP methods to make a request over a network is one of the requirements to be a REST API. A type of API that must be accessed through a network connection is called web services. Because it offers a standardized methodology for making requests to an API is the reason why REST is great. Once you learn one REST API, other REST APIs will function similarly.
API is related to both REST API and RESTful API. REST API develops APIs to enable client-server interaction. RESTful API follows the REST architecture while giving interoperability between different systems. While REST is a constraint, RESTful is an API adhering to these constraints.
The REST is a software architectural style that is not standardized like SOAP. When it comes to implementation, it gives a lot of elasticity. For instance, there is no appropriate or single way to implement pagination; hence, REST defines a set of general, main constraints to adhere to when developing RESTful APIs. These constraints are explained below:
Security issues must be a crucial aspect to consider when a REST API is designed, tested, and deployed. Most times, the security levels are underestimated in the development and design of the API. Sensitive data security, whether personal or organizational information, is an essential factor affecting developers nowadays. REST APIs are not exempted, being part of important systems that needs protection against security breaches and threats.
Therefore, when we look deeply into some examples, a few tips and basic things can be taken into account when implementing APIs.
HTTP Protects REST API With No Authentication: Most developers are already familiar with providing an API by using HTTPS. But it can be tricky using an API that does not have any authentication for personalized services.
No Throttling Or Rate Limiting Implemented: The API was not limited nor throttled so the traffic peak hit the backend directly. Enforcing a system-wide quota is a good practice so that there will not be an overload at the backend. Setting up an app- and/or user-based quota is an even better practice.
Unprotected Keys And Identity: To grant access to services on behalf of the user, OAuth/ OpenID Connect is used a lot. These tokens provide a longer period of access without requiring reauthentication. This is a good thing, but users are not usually aware of this and struggle to know the difference between changing password and revoking access.
Unencrypted Payroll: There still remain some apps, even if seldom use unencrypted payloads or connections. It is actually easier to listen to traffic and API calls of websites and mobile apps.
Incorrect Use Of HTTPS: When HTTPS is used, it doesn’t stop the connection from being intercepted. Certificate Key Pinning needs to be implemented to avoid this from happening.
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