The security hits keep coming from all directions, and misconfigurations in third-party Application Programming Interfaces (API) are quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing vulnerabilities for malicious activity. These kinds of problems reinforce just how critical it is to never assume Software as a Service (SaaS) or cloud service providers have the proper security in place to protect your information.
In order to fully grasp the magnitude of how dangerous these threats are, it is important to understand the function of an API. Acting as an intermediary, APIs allow two applications to communicate with each other, such a search-engine app on your phone. In the case of Salesforce, a cloud-based customer relationship management software company, an error occurred with a code change to their Marketing Cloud API that likely caused requests to retrieve or write data from one customer’s account to another inadvertently. This may have left some of their users’ data accessible by third parties or corrupted. Perhaps even more alarming, it appears Salesforce did not have effective monitoring or logging processes in place, as they cannot definitively tell users whether or not their data was accessed or altered.
It is crucial to remember that you are ultimately responsibility for ensuring your sensitive business information, as well as that of your customers is safe from exploitation. Vulnerabilities like these can destroy your company if not set up and secured properly. Here are 4 valuable tips to help you avert them on your end.
- End-to-End Encryption
Using the latest cryptographic protocols to force end-to-end encryption of the request-response process is fundamental and should never be left to chance. This will ensure authentication credentials in transit, including passwords, API keys and tokens are properly protected. Adding mutually authenticated certificates is an additional layer that can also be added so that both sides exchanging information can be sure their API communication is safe from interference.
- Best Practices
As the business demand for technology as a way to drive revenue increases, it is becoming more difficult to see the impact that IT advances will have on security down the road. Following longstanding security best practices when implementing any new application will always help reduce your risk of a data breach.
- Seasoned Expertise
Before deciding on a particular SaaS, talk to other businesses for their recommendations and speak with potential providers about their security protocols to find out if they meet expectations. Managed security providers, like Protelligent®, have the depth of knowledge necessary to guide you through every step of the process, and provide valuable strategies to strengthen your security as a whole.
- Multi-layered Security
Understanding what normal activity looks like within cloud computing is vital to indentifying threat activity. Multi-layered security programs that leverage the latest threat intelligence to quickly identify anomalies help to remediate them before they can turn into attacks. Continuous monitoring that extends beyond your in-house network to mobile, cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT), is the only effective approach for strong, business-aligned cyber-defense operations.
Fight back against hidden vulnerabilities with the necessary knowledge and support to properly evaluate, manage and secure your API and third-party integrations with Premonition™ Security Suite. Call us at (855) PRO-TELL to gain the peace of mind you need to create efficiencies and increase productivity in today’s cyber-threat landscape by taking advantage of everything cloud computing has to offer.
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