@tauseeffayyaz
@tauseeffayyaz
With millions of APIs powering modern apps, API
security is more critical than ever yet it’s one of the
most overlooked aspects of development.
Many developers build fast, ship faster… and forget
to secure their APIs properly.
That’s exactly why I’ve created a practical API
Security Handbook, a curated list of best practices,
tips, and actionable guidelines to help you protect
your APIs from common vulnerabilities and threats.
@tauseeffayyaz
Authentication
Authentication verifies who is
accessing your API. It’s the first
step in ensuring that only valid
users can interact with your
system.
Using OAuth 2.0 or JWT (JSON Web Token)
to authenticate users before granting access
to endpoints like /user/profile.
@tauseeffayyaz
Authorization
Authorization determines what
an authenticated user can do. It
restricts access based on roles or
permissions.
A user with a viewer role can access
/reports/view, but not /reports/delete.
@tauseeffayyaz
API Versioning
Versioning allows you to update
your API without breaking
existing clients and helps enforce
better change management.
Use versioned URLs like /api/v1/ and /api/v2/
to safely introduce changes over time.
@tauseeffayyaz
Data Redaction
Sensitive data such as
passwords or credit card
numbers should be redacted or
masked in logs and responses to
prevent leakage.
Instead of showing creditCard: 1234-5678-
9876-5432, show creditCard: ****-****-
****-5432 in logs.
@tauseeffayyaz
Encryption
Encrypt data in transit (via
HTTPS) and at rest to protect it
from being read or tampered
with by unauthorized parties.
All API calls use HTTPS, and stored
passwords are encrypted using bcrypt.
@tauseeffayyaz
Error Handling
Errors should be handled
gracefully without revealing
system internals or stack traces
that could aid attackers.
Return a generic 500 Internal Server Error
with a message like Something went wrong
instead of a full database error trace.
@tauseeffayyaz
Data Sanitization
Always validate and sanitize
input data to prevent injection
attacks like SQL injection or XSS.
Reject malformed email inputs like email:
<script>alert(1)</script>, and escape any
special characters.
@tauseeffayyaz
Intrusion Detection
IDS tools monitor your API
traffic for unusual patterns or
known attack signatures,
alerting you of possible
breaches.
Use tools like Snort or AWS GuardDuty to
detect and log suspicious access attempts.
@tauseeffayyaz
IP Whitelisting
Restrict access to your APIs by
allowing only known and trusted
IP addresses.
Only your office or cloud provider’s IPs can
access internal admin APIs.
@tauseeffayyaz
Logging & Monitoring
Track all API requests, errors,
and authentication attempts to
detect anomalies and improve
security.
Use tools like ELK Stack, Datadog, or Splunk
to monitor endpoint access patterns and
failures.
@tauseeffayyaz
Rate Limiting
Protect your API from abuse or
DDoS by limiting how many
requests a client can make in a
given time window.
Allow max 100 requests per minute per IP for
/login endpoint to prevent brute force attacks.
@tauseeffayyaz
Secure Dependencies
Regularly scan and update third-
party libraries or frameworks to
patch known vulnerabilities.
Use tools like Snyk or npm audit to detect and
resolve outdated or vulnerable packages in
your API stack.
@tauseeffayyaz
Security Headers
HTTP security headers protect
against common attacks by
enforcing browser-level
restrictions.
Use headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-
Content-Type-Options, and Strict-Transport-
Security in API responses.
@tauseeffayyaz
Token Expiry
Access tokens should have an
expiry time to reduce the risk of
misuse if leaked.
JWT tokens expire after 15 minutes and
require a refresh token to obtain a new one.
@tauseeffayyaz
Security Standards
Relying on proven security
frameworks and standards
ensures you follow best
practices by default.
Use OWASP API Security Top 10 as a
baseline and libraries like Spring Security or
Express middleware for access control.
@tauseeffayyaz
Web Firewall
A WAF sits between your API
and incoming traffic, filtering out
malicious requests before they
hit your server.
Cloudflare or AWS WAF blocks SQL injection
attempts and limits traffic spikes
automatically.
@tauseeffayyaz
What’s Next?
Let me know what you’re struggling with,
and I’ll bring the most helpful tips and
resources to you.
It takes time and effort to prepare these
valuable resources, but I’m committed to
helping you.
@tauseeffayyaz
Your support keeps me motivated
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