Defend against cybercriminal's latest weapon: API vulnerabilities, bad bots & client-side attacks

The world of cybersecurity has now been plagued by a dangerous rise in API vulnerabilities, bad bots and client-side attacks. These sophisticated attacks have targeted businesses across industries. The recent API data breach of T-Mobile had exposed personal data of 37 million customers, highlighting the urgent need for vigorous security measures and the fact that web application security can’t be ignored.

Over the past few years, threats to applications have multiplied, and newer, more dangerous attack vectors have emerged. The fastest-growing attack vectors are now API vulnerabilities, automated bot attacks, and client-side attacks. One of the most alarming aspects of these attacks is their potential for widespread damage. The interconnected nature of modern business environments with the increased use of IoT devices means that a single vulnerability can expose multiple organizations to risk. Furthermore, these attacks can go undetected for extended periods, making the damage even more severe and costly.

A Barracuda Report that finds on an average, respondent organizations in India were successfully breached twice during 2020-2021 as a direct result of an application’s vulnerability. At least 52% of respondents in India said that bot attacks contributed to a successful security breach that exploited vulnerability in the organization’s applications. Understanding these top attacks is crucial for organizations to identify potential vulnerabilities and proactively implement security measures to protect against these OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities.

What is API attack

APIs or Application Programming Interfaces are built for automation and have become the backbone of modern digital ecosystems, allowing developers to quickly build and release new functionalities for web and mobile applications. However, APIs are very frequently unknown (shadow APIs) and unprotected. And as API versions change, older endpoints are often left unprotected (zombie APIs). Their increased popularity in web application development or the “API first” approach has made them a prime target for the critical data that they can access. By exploiting weaknesses within APIs, hackers gain unauthorized access to critical systems, compromising user data, and causing significant damage to businesses.

What is bot attack

Bad bots make up a significant part of website traffic today, and detecting and blocking them is of critical importance to businesses. Automated traffic makes up nearly two-thirds of internet traffic, as measured by Barracuda technology over the first six months of 2021. They are automated scripts or programs to perform malicious activities. These activities can include credential stuffing, where bots attempt to gain unauthorized access by using stolen or weak credentials or scraping sensitive data for malicious purposes. Bot attacks can result in data breaches, service disruptions, and fraudulent activities. They are also highly sophisticated and can be almost human in their behaviour to bypass most defences.

What is client-side attack

Client-side attacks, also known as supply-chain attacks, often target security weaknesses in open source or the other third-party code. To improve performance and user experience, a lot of different third-party components that lived on the client side (aka the browser) are moved to third-party servers. For example, if your app uses geolocation or checks out your online purchases, it’s calling third-party services that deliver JavaScript and other data to be rendered on the client side. Cybercriminals can compromise third-party services and use them to embed malware that can attack every client instance, for example by skimming payment info or gathering credentials, which can lead to widespread and costly data breaches.

How to keep your business safe with WAF solutions?

The implementation of Web Application Firewall (WAF) or WAF-as-a-Service solutions and robust security measures has become paramount to safeguarding sensitive data stored in web applications and protecting against malicious actors. As data privacy rules are tightening in India and across the globe, such as India’s Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB) or European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it is essential for businesses operating in India to adhere to the requirements and secure their data. By adopting comprehensive security measures, it helps mitigate the risk of data breaches and avoid costly legal penalties, reputational damage, and loss of customer trust.

Barracuda offers powerful application security that protects your web app and APIs from DDoS, advanced bot attacks and more. Barracuda Application Protection, a comprehensive platform that combines machine learning (ML)-powered web application, API, DDoS and bot protection with zero trust security, helps businesses prevent today’s most complex threats. You can try it in your environment right now, free for 30 days.

If you’d like to know more about what Barracuda WAF or WAF-as-a-Service solutions could do for you and your business – please get in touch.