How Should I Be Using API Discovery? Streamlining Workflows for Ongoing Discovery

API Discovery is a powerful tool for organizations looking to monitor and secure their API attack surface consistently and effectively. By leveraging its automatic discovery features, you can reduce manual effort, minimize blind spots, and maintain peace of mind knowing that your APIs are monitored for potential security risks. Here’s how to optimize your workflow with Attack Surface Discovert.

1. Set Up for Continuous Discovery

While API Discovery can be configured to run manually, most customers benefit from its automatic, low-impact daily crawling. This feature ensures that:

• API Monitoring is Seamless: The tool generates only a few hundred API requests per API server during its crawl—comparable to the impact of a Google Bot.

• Comprehensive Coverage: By running daily, API Discovery captures any changes to your API attack surface, reducing the risk of blind spots.

To optimize your setup:

• Configure API Discovery to perform daily or frequent crawls of your domains.

2. Incorporate 5 Core Validation Steps - What to Measure

To maximize the value of API Discovery, integrate the following validation steps into your workflow:

1. Validate API Hosts - Confirm the number of API hosts aligns with expected values to avoid rogue or unauthorized APIs. This validation restricts access points that attackers could exploit, limiting exposure to security threats.
2. Validate Subdomains - Ensure all subdomains associated with API hosts are accounted for, including low-use ones. Overlooking these can create security gaps, so identifying them strengthens external defense.
3. Validate API Necessity - Involve development teams to confirm all API hosts are relevant and necessary. This minimizes redundant or outdated APIs, enhancing security by reducing the API attack surface.
4. Validate Hosting Providers - Evaluate hosting providers for APIs (e.g., AWS, Azure) to ensure they meet security standards. Consolidating hosting providers may improve security, streamline management, and potentially reduce costs.
5. Validate API Protection - Ensure APIs are protected by security measures such as gateways, CDNs, or firewalls. These tools enforce access control, encryption, and logging, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and data exposure.

3. Streamline Results Collection

Security teams often collect and review API Discovery results on a weekly or monthly basis, or after major changes in application traffic. These results help:

• Confirm the accuracy of your API inventory.

• Identify unmanaged or unexpected APIs that could introduce vulnerabilities.

• Highlight any security issues requiring immediate remediation.

To make the most of this process:

• Assign an administrator to review results regularly.

• Schedule review sessions after significant application or traffic changes.

• Use the reports as a “double-check” to ensure your attack surface is secure.

4. Leverage Automated and Continuous Discovery

API Discovery’s automated discovery process eliminates the need for manual tracking. Its continuous discovery capabilities ensure that:

• New API applications are identified as soon as they’re developed.

• Changes in your API environment are captured in near real-time.

By relying on the tool’s automated features, your team can:

• Stay proactive in securing APIs.

• Reduce labor-intensive tasks and free up resources for other priorities.

5. Address Key Security Risks

API Discovery helps you identify a range of security risks, including:

• Unprotected APIs: Detect APIs that could serve as backdoors into your environment.

• 3rd-Party API Risks: Ensure OpenAPI specification files used by 3rd-party integration partners are secure and not publicly exposed.

By addressing these risks, you’ll achieve:

• External visibility of your API attack surface.
• Confidence that no security blind spots remain.

6. Customer Insights: How API Discovery Works in Practice

Many security teams have transformed their processes with API Discovery. Here’s a typical scenario:

• After running API Discovery, a team discovered thousands of unmanaged APIs previously unknown to them.

• These APIs were integrated into the team’s security workflow, reducing potential entry points for attackers.

• The team gained real-time alerts for new API developments, ensuring continuous protection.

Final Tips for Success

• Regular Monitoring: Use API Discovery’s dashboard to keep tabs on your attack surface and review alerts promptly.

• Collaborate Across Teams: Share insights with development, operations, and third-party partners to ensure a holistic security approach.

• Stay Informed: Keep API Discovery updated and adapt its configuration as your environment evolves.

By implementing these strategies, API Discovery becomes more than a tool—it’s a cornerstone of your API security strategy, ensuring ongoing discovery and peace of mind for your organization.

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