As per a new report from Risk Based Security, more than 6, 500 data breaches were reported in 2018 alone, making it the second-most active year for data breaches on record. In today’s digital world, security holds prime importance to keep data and records safe as well as secure. Implementing API security best practices is important to keep data and integrations safely between disparate systems.
A majority of businesses and technology providers tend to maintain the authenticity of their data and APIs with the help of identity and access management. Such a system helps companies protect access to APIs and SOA endpoints, maintain data integrity and confidentiality, and guard your system against security attacks. In other words, this system is responsible for making sure that only authorized users can access APIs, data, systems, etc.
Companies willing to secure their data access can make use of following 5 sure-sort ways.
1. Multi-factor Authentication (MFA):MFA is an effective way to provide enhanced security. This particular type of access management allows access only after verification of an end user’s identity or credentials. In this method, details such as a code from the user’s smartphone, answer to a security question, a fingerprint, or facial recognition are verified in addition to username and password. Only once the user’s credentials are verified, access to application or system is allowed.
2. Digital Signatures:In this digital age, one can become a victim to hackers and malicious schemes that exist solely to steal data, and in some cases identities as well. With a digital signature, on the other hand, you can ensure message integrity and protect your enterprise against fraud and keep your data away from prying interventions that could be responsible for harming the business if given the opportunity.
Signature is crafted through an app using a secret code and algorithm. The application program interface uses the same algorithm with another secret code to give rise to its own signature, which it later compares with the incoming signature. When a match happens, the API will authenticate the sender, thus maintaining integrity. And so, if the signature has been tampered with by a third-party vendor, it will get identified easily.
3. Token-based Authentication:Token-based credentials prove to be one of the most sought after methods of securing application as well as data access. In this method, once the user establishes access to an identity provider with their credentials, a token is issued. As the token is issued, users need not share their credentials over the entire network that can pose a threat. Since tokens are issued to each app uniquely, all apps can be accessed in an individual manner even if an app’s token gets expired.
4. Secure Integration Platform:With an end-to-end encrypted environment, integration solutions allow secure data transfer and exchange between applications or systems. Prior to data exchange, all users are individually authorized as well as authenticated when they are registered and logged in to the application. Since all data transfers happen over secured connections, the risk of breaches is cut down to a minimum.
5. Digital Certificates:This method enables secure communication between clients and server over a network. Digital certificate merges server data with data about the business, which owns the server. The certificate is digitally validated by a neutral authority that the respective client can trust. In short, digital certificates serve as an important tool to secure data access by encrypting internal and external communications to avoid external entities from stealing sensitive information.
Take a look at Adeptia’s integration platform to ensure data and API security.