Why Shadow APIs are More Dangerous than You Think

Shadow APIs are a growing risk for organizations of all sizes as
they can mask malicious behavior and induce substantial data loss.
For those that aren’t familiar with the term, shadow APIs are a
type of application programming interface (API) that isn’t
officially documented or supported.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s unfortunately all too common to
have APIs in production that no one on your operations or security
teams knows about. Enterprises manage thousands of APIs, many of
which are not routed through a proxy such as an API gateway or web
application firewall. This means they aren’t monitored, are rarely
audited, and are most vulnerable.

Since they aren’t visible to security teams, shadow APIs provide
hackers with a defenseless path to exploit vulnerabilities. These
APIs can potentially be manipulated by malicious actors to gain
access to a range of sensitive information, from customer addresses
to company financial records. Considering the potential for
substantial data leakage and hefty compliance violations,
preventing unauthorized access through shadow APIs has become
mission-critical.

To help you get started, I’ll explore how APIs become hidden and
discuss how shadow APIs can be used for malicious purposes. You’ll
also learn the importance of monitoring API usage and traffic, as
well as how to identify shadow APIs and mitigate risks with
purpose-built security controls.

How APIs become hidden

A number of factors can contribute to the lack of API
visibility, including poor API management, a lack of governance,
and inadequate documentation. Without sufficient governance,
organizations risk having an excessive number of APIs that aren’t
being utilized effectively.

A significant portion of shadow APIs are caused by employee
attrition. Quite frankly, developers don’t share all of the tribal
knowledge when they depart to new opportunities. And with the
developer job market as hot as it is, it’s easy to see how this can
happen. Especially when you consider how many projects they’re
working on. Even employees with the best of intentions will miss
something while handing off.

There are also APIs that were passed on as a result of a merger
or acquisition which are often forgotten about. Inventory loss can
occur during system integration, which is a difficult and
complicated operation, or it’s possible that no inventory existed
at all. Larger corporations that acquire multiple smaller
businesses are particularly at risk since smaller companies are
more likely to have inadequately documented APIs.

Another culprit are APIs with poor security or a known
vulnerability is still in use. Sometimes an older version of
software may have to run alongside a newer one for a while during
upgrades. Then unfortunately, the person in charge of ultimately
deactivating the API, either leaves, is given a new task, or
forgets to delete the prior version.

How hackers utilize shadow APIs

Shadow APIs are a powerful tool for malicious actors, allowing
them to bypass security measures and gain access to sensitive data
or disrupt operations. Hackers can use shadow APIs to perform
various attacks such as data exfiltration, account hijacking, and
privilege escalation. They can also be used for reconnaissance
purposes, gathering information about a target’s critical systems
and networks.

As if that wasn’t dangerous enough, hackers can avert
authentication and authorization controls via shadow APIs to access
privileged accounts that could be used to launch more sophisticated
attacks. All without the knowledge of the organization’s security
team. For example, API attacks have also started to surface in the
automotive industry^[2], putting drivers and
their passengers at extreme risk.

By exploiting APIs, cybercriminals could retrieve sensitive
customer data, such as their address, credit card info from sales
quotes and VIN numbers—information with obvious implications for
identity theft. These exploited API vulnerabilities could also
expose vehicle location or enable hackers to compromise remote
management systems. Meaning cybercriminals would have the ability
to unlock vehicles, start engines or even disable starters
altogether.

As organizations become increasingly reliant on cloud-based
services, it is becoming increasingly important for them to uncover
shadow APIs in order to protect their data and systems from
malicious actors.

How to identify and mitigate shadow API
risks

Identifying shadow APIs is an important part of API security. It
involves discovering all the APIs that are running in your
environment, understanding their purpose, and ensuring they are
secure. This can be done through API discovery^[3]
tools which scan for all the APIs running in an environment and
provide detailed information about them.

By using these tools, organizations can identify any shadow APIs
that may exist in their environment and take steps to secure them
before they become a bigger security risk. This can include
monitoring network traffic for suspicious activities, conducting
regular vulnerability scans, and ensuring that all API requests are
authenticated.

Once identified, organizations should put measures in place to
mitigate the risks associated with these APIs such as implementing
data encryption, restricting access privileges, and enforcing
security policies. Additionally, organizations should also ensure
that they have adequate logging systems in place so that any
unauthorized access attempts can be quickly identified and
addressed.

Find and eliminate shadow APIs with Noname
Security

Now that you’ve made it to the end, let’s sum things up so you
truly understand the task ahead of you. The bottom line is, shadow
APIs present a unique challenge for organizations just like yours.
They provide hackers with a way of hiding their activities as they
are often difficult to detect and trace. At the very least they are
a threat to data security and privacy.

With that said, Noname Security can help you to accurately keep
track of all your APIs, especially shadow APIs. They provide a
single pane of glass that gives you complete insight into all data
sources, whether on-premise and in the cloud.

Their API Security Platform can monitor load balancers, API
gateways, and web application firewalls, enabling you to find and
catalog every type of API, including HTTP, RESTful, GraphQL, SOAP,
XML-RPC, JSON-RPC, and gRPC. Believe it or not, their customers
typically find 40% more APIs in their environment than they had
previously thought.

To learn more about API discovery and how Noname Security can
help you get a grip on your shadow APIs, I encourage you to
download their new Definitive Guide to API
Discovery^[4].