Why are Secure APIs necessary for the cloud?

While cloud migration has become so crucial for the digital transformation of your business, you may face several threats during the process apart from dealing with standard issues like downtime. However, these threats are not typically the cloud computing traits as such. These are misconfiguration of the cloud resources or the inefficient application of the security measures that give rise to these threats. One of the many issues that can make these threats happen is the exploitation of cloud APIs i.e. Application Programming Interfaces. In this article, we will discuss what secure APIs are and why are they necessary for the cloud. So, let’s begin the journey.

What is an API (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a set of definitions and protocols in computing through which the services and resources communicate with each other. A Cloud API is used for requesting and transferring the commands and data in a cloud environment.

Why Secure APIs are Necessary for the cloud?

If you do not use a secure API, chances are higher it can be exploited by even the attackers for interacting with your resources and data. An insecure API is such a vulnerability that when exploited may result in attackers gaining control of your resources, eavesdropping on communications, or modifying and stealing your data. The point is if your APIs are exploited by the attackers, these are not just the only trouble attackers can cause. They may take advantage of other threats as well such as insufficient data security (data corruption during transfer, improper deletion, misconfigured access controls, or attack and theft) and compromised credentials.

Typically, you have less control over your data during or post cloud migration than when it is on-premises. Running into a problem is evident if proper access restrictions are not implemented, data is not encrypted whether in transit or at rest, or data access is not monitored. Not just that, if the users in the cloud are not careful, they can be easily misguided by the attackers to log into fraud portals letting them steal their credentials.

Once the credentials are stolen by the attackers, they can be used for accessing any application or data that the original user had access to. Since they log in through these stolen credentials, they might appear as legitimate users making it even more challenging for the security teams to identify. In short, the attackers get open access to your data and applications. This is why secure APIs are so critical to have a secure cloud, and that you must pay heed to the API security.

Since, a large number of businesses are using Microsoft Azure as the cloud service provider of their choice, here in this article we are going to discuss some Azure tools that help you accomplish the API security task.

Azure API Security

The Azure cloud migration services also include the Azure API Management (APIM) service, which can be used while creating cloud APIs in Microsoft Azure. It, in turn, presents various methods for securing the APIs that include Authorization keys, OAuth and JSON Web Tokens (JWTs), and client certificate authentication. Securing the cloud API is an important part of the Azure cloud migrations strategy.

Wrap Up

During a cloud migration process, your data and applications become more vulnerable to attacks. As discussed above, exploitation of cloud API, insufficient data security, and compromised credentials are some of the most common threats. However, using a secure API can help you evade these threats before they turn into breaches.

Though cloud services providers offer various cloud API security controls, all of these capabilities need configuration, and that you must go through the official documentation well. Don’t forget, misconfiguration leads to many vulnerabilities that, in turn, can result in breaches. If you need configuration support, you can consult with LogicEra experts and leverage its managed Azure services. For a free POC (Proof of Concept), click here.