APIs are the backbone of modern applications—and a prime target for attackers. The OWASP API Security Top 10 provides a framework for thinking about API risks.
Authentication and Authorization
Always verify:
Authorization: Bearer <token>
Validate tokens properly:
- Check signature
- Verify expiration
- Confirm audience
- Check scopes
Rate Limiting
Prevent abuse:
X-RateLimit-Limit: 100
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 95
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1620000000
Input Validation
Never trust input:
from pydantic import BaseModel, validator
class UserInput(BaseModel):
email: str
age: int
@validator('age')
def age_must_be_positive(cls, v):
if v < 0 or v > 150:
raise ValueError('Invalid age')
return v
API Gateway Security
Centralize security controls:
- Authentication
- Rate limiting
- Request validation
- Logging
- WAF integration
Monitoring
Track anomalies:
- Unusual request volumes
- New client IPs
- Error rate spikes
- Slow response times