API Security Testing
Assess your API calls & endpoints for security vulnerabilities with a comprehensive security test
API Security Testing is designed specifically to ensure the security of all endpoints within an API. API Security Testing helps identify and prevent vulnerabilities and their associated potential organizational risk. With API’s making up more and more of the backend of applications, it is extremely important to ensure their security, especially customer data and system processes that can all be exposed and taken advantage of by a malicious hacker.
Penetration Testing, also known as a pen test or ethical hacking, is a simulated cyber attack against computer systems typically performed using manual or automated technologies to systematically compromise servers, API calls & endpoints, web applications, wireless networks, network devices, mobile devices and other potential points of exposure.
API Penetration Testing
The lack of a clear protocol makes application security assessments of microservice APIs somewhat precarious, since the typical go-to web security assessment tools, prescribed security assessment methodologies, and general penetration tester experience may not include coverage or interaction know-how for a particular microservice API offering or operational behavior.
API penetration testing is very similar to web application penetration testing and so the Cyber Legion API pentesting methodology is based on the same foundation — the OWASP Top 10, the OWASP ASVS, and the OWASP Testing Guide. Cyber Legion tests web-based APIs, REST APIs, and mobile APIs. We also analyze the target API to determine which authentication type is used, study API structures, understand request methods, responses, roles, and exploit bugs on a real production API or an API in a staging environment.
API Security Testing Methodology – What do we test for?
We test a wide range of attack vectors including the OWASP API Top 10 2019, as well as our own specific testing methodology to ensure the best results.
Much of what is tested for is to ensure the security of the application and its data, but also the security of other applications which may rely on the API for data or services.
Authentication, authorization and injection as well as rate-limiting are just a small part of how we ensure the security of an API.
We perform the assessment based on OWASP Framework checklists.
- Information Gathering
- Broken Object Level Authorization
- Broken User Authentication
- Excessive Data Exposure
- Lack of Resources & Rate Limiting
- Broken Function Level Authorization
- Mass Assignment Security
- Misconfiguration Injection
- Improper Assets Management
- Insufficient Logging & Monitoring
- Complete API Testing
How can we Help?
Cyber Legion provide a continuous cycle of Penetration Testing combined with remediation via Secure Client Portal, to protect/enhance your assets and help improve the organization security posture.
We have deep expertise in application security, mobile apps, API security, IOT and network pen testing. We work specifically to help improve the security of our clients and offer comprehensive security testing that highlight issues in a detailed and intelligible manner.
Our testing methodologies are based on well known security Frameworks and specifically designed to remove the risk of inconvenience during the testing process and keep you up to date as the test progresses. We work directly with our clients to ensure the best possible outcome of all engagements.
FAQ’s
What is API security testing?
APIs are used for some of the most mission-critical operations in any company, and because they frequently handle personal data, it is crucial that they are as safe and resilient as possible. An API security testing simulates an attack on an API in order to test its security. A security researcher will test a variety of attack approaches in order to compromise user data or API functionality that a hacker may utilize. Once the test is done, the security researcher will deliver a report to the firm detailing the issues discovered and recommendations for how to resolve those concerns.
What is the OWASP Framework?
The OWASP Security Knowledge Framework is an open source web application that explains secure coding principles in multiple programming languages. The goal of OWASP-SKF is to help you learn and integrate security by design in your software development and build applications that are secure by design.
What are the benefits of API security testing?
API’s have increasingly become a target for hackers and malicious users over the years. Improper security can lead to massive data breaches and loss of user data which can go undetected due to the API being abused in a way that seems normal.
Not only are API’s becoming more of a target, but they are also given a lot more functionality of an application meaning that vital processes which may have been protected previously, can now be vulnerable to SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting or other dangerous vulnerabilities which could be used to compromise the system or user data.
What is penetration testing?
Penetration tests (or pen tests) are attacks on your companies’ software and hardware systems, carried out by ‘ethical hackers’ to expose your system’s vulnerabilities. One example is a web application pen test. Web apps, browsers and plug-ins can house sensitive financial or personal data, so hackers are increasingly putting their efforts towards gaining access to them. The test would examine the endpoint of every web application.
How long does a penetration testing take?
The time that penetration testing takes depends on the size and complexity of your organization’s system structure, as well as the scope of the test itself. For the ‘average’ company, a network penetration test should take around three days. For a merchant processing millions of credit cards a year, for example, a pen test will take over a week, or possibly two.
How much does a pen test cost?
The penetration testing cost depends on the facts identified during scoping, such as the agreed time, goals, technical resources, approach, and remedial support.
