An Application Programming Interface (API) allows software applications to interact with each other. It is a fundamental part of modern software patterns, such as microservices architectures.

API security is the process of protecting APIs from attacks. Because APIs are very commonly used, and because they enable access to sensitive software functions and data, they are becoming a primary target for attackers.

API security is a key component of modern web application security. APIs may have vulnerabilities like broken authentication and authorization, lack of rate limiting, and code injection. Organizations must regularly test APIs to identify vulnerabilities, and address these vulnerabilities using security best practices. This article presents several methods and tools for API security testing, and a range of best practices that can help you secure your APIs.