Digital transformation is supported while known and unknown risks are decreased by a comprehensive governance framework that safeguards APIs from the cloud to the edge.
The security risks of the organization increase whenever APIs become widely spread without any holistic governance strategies. The issue is exacerbated by a constant application lifecycle process where apps and APIs are continuously evolving. Therefore, the below-given strategies will help CIOs to secure third-party API-
Inventory & Testing
The certainty of the API performance can be determined by beta testing of the multiple third-party API security in comparison to the others as it allows CISOs to make informed decisions. Drafting an inventory or list having all the reputed third-party vendors and service providers is one of the most efficient ways to ensure third-party API security.
After collecting information on these vendors, the classification is required as per their impact level. The impact level refers to the access and control level that an API needs to perform effectively. Lessening the API access in the organizational assets, the more security level it poses. The API security risks can be categorized into high, medium, and low. CISOs can accept and choose third-party API security based on this.
Also Read: Strategies to Develop and Implement More Secure Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
Vulnerabilities Patching
As the security risks in the API are high, the responsibility to patch the vulnerabilities also needs to be taken. If the third-party vendor is not offering regular security updates for their APIs or web extensions, then it is not the right partner for the company.
It is critical to have a dedicated team that will investigate and validate a particular third-party API security for appropriate management. This team must evaluate the security accessibility of data and other assets by the API, and how a company must handle misuse of third-party API.
The third-party incident response plan could be helpful for CIOs to manage the unexpected cyber risks caused by malicious third-party API security.
API Vendor Verification
Before leveraging any API vendor, it is very important to verify the vendors to get specific information. It is crucial to know the process of collecting information by a third-party API, where it is stored and how it will be utilized.
The security measures that API vendors take to secure the collected data and information. By verifying these vendors, the gathered information helps CIOs to determine the reliability of the third-party API security to handle organizational data and information.
Zero-Trust Cybersecurity Policies
Strict zero-trust cybersecurity policies must be developed and imposed in the organization since statistically, most data breaches are caused by negligent employees and human errors. These zero-trust policies must be a set of compact cybersecurity rules and procedures for both the third-party API security vendors and the employees cooperating together.
The cybersecurity culture of the organization can succeed by developing cybersecurity policies that address third-party security procedures as well as educating and motivating employees to build a cybersecurity-conscious mindset. This action will help employees to build a security-first mindset which will decrease the potential risks and improves third-party API security.
Also Read: Four Key Components for an Effective Cybersecurity Recovery Plan
Access Management System
The deployment of a privileged access management system is helpful to ensure that only legitimate users can access the sensitive information of the company. The multi-factor authentication can be used for securing critical assets to make it harder to compromise the organizational network even after the credentials are stolen. Actions such as One-time passwords (OTP) and manual access approval must be included in ensuring third-party API security as it will help in preventing cyber-attacks.
Enterprises must employ contemporary architectures and third-party integrations to update their legacy apps while also creating new user experiences. This way CIOs can confirm third-party API security.
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