What is API Discovery?

API discovery helps companies map out their API footprint, which is vital to understanding how APIs are used within the company and what needs to be done to protect them against data breaches and other potential cyberattacks.

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Why API Discovery Matters

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are powerful tools for both organizations and their customers – here’s how they help:

Direct Interaction

APIs enable other programs to interact directly:

Programs can request data or execute functionality
This is done using interfaces designed specifically for them
This avoids interacting with web pages designed for humans

Optimize API Usage

Continuous API discovery is crucial for optimizing API usage. Here’s why it’s important:

Enhanced Integration, Governance, and Documentation:
- Knowledge of an organization’s APIs allows for:
  - Better integration between different systems
  - Improved governance of API usage
  - Clearer and more up-to-date API documentation
Improved Application Security and Compliance:
- APIs can introduce security vulnerabilities.
- API discovery helps identify and address these vulnerabilities because:
  - You can’t secure APIs you don’t know exist.
  - You can’t ensure uptime and data security if you don’t know what APIs your systems rely on.
- Effective API discovery is a critical part of an organization’s API security program.
- It helps protect against common web security threats including those listed in the OWASP Top Ten.

Roles of API Discovery

API discovery tools and discovery processes provide these key roles:

Service Discovery: API discovery tools can identify all of the APIs that are used by an organization and its systems. By mapping out the organization’s API usage, API security helps to identify potential redundancies, detect vulnerabilities and other security risks, and ensure that the organization is making the best possible use of available APIs.
API Documentation: APIs are commonly under-documented, especially if the organization is not officially aware of them. API discovery should be used to support documentation efforts, including recording what the API does, the endpoints that it hosts, and examples of the requests that users can make and standard responses from the API.
Enhanced Integration: APIs are designed to enable integration between various programs and systems by offering a means of requesting data and receiving responses in a documented format. However, companies can only take advantage of APIs that they know exist. API discovery helps an organization map out existing connections and create new ones to take full advantage of available capabilities.

How to Perform API Discovery

API discovery can be performed in a few different ways. In addition to manual processes, there are also tools available to expedite the process.

An organization can perform manual API discovery by monitoring network traffic and/or scanning its network. Inspecting network traffic can help with identifying active API connections and usage based on requests and responses present in the API traffic.

You can also scan its endpoints looking for systems that respond to requests and mapping out their capabilities.

Companies can also take advantage of automated tools for API discovery, which can dramatically expedite the process. These tools may be available as standalone offerings or integrated into your security appliances.

This use of integrated API discovery enhances an organization’s overall security by ensuring that web security solutions — such as an organization’s web application firewall (WAF) or web application and API protection (WAAP) solution — are aware of the functionality of various API endpoints and properly protecting them against potential exploitation.

API Discovery with CloudGuard WAF

APIs have become a vital component of many organizations’ IT infrastructure, both on-prem and in the cloud. APIs can provide access to valuable data and functionality and are commonly used to connect microservices and other software applications. However, if a company isn’t aware of its full API footprint, it can’t use its APIs to their full potential and may be exposing them to cyberattacks.

API discovery is built into Check Point’s CloudGuard WAF. CloudGuard WAF — a component of CloudGuard WAF, Check Point’s suite of application security tools — enables organizations to find and secure their APIs in a single solution.

To learn more about CloudGuard WAF and Check Point’s full suite of cloud AppSec solutions, check out this whitepaper. To see CloudGuard WAF in action and learn how it can enhance your organization’s API visibility and security, sign up for a free CloudGuard WAF demo.