Ensuring Video API Security: Best Practices and Tips

In today's digital landscape, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) have become the backbone of modern applications, facilitating seamless communication between different software systems. However, as their usage proliferates, so do the associated security risks. Recent studies highlight a concerning trend: 84% of security professionals reported experiencing API security incidents, underscoring the critical need for robust security measures. ​

Table of contents

1. The rise of API security threats
2. Common API security vulnerabilities
3. Best practices for securing APIs
4. Conclusion

The rise of API security threats

APIs have become the lifeblood of modern digital applications, enabling seamless communication between different systems, services, and platforms. However, as API adoption grows, so do the security risks.

Why are APIs targeted by cybercriminals?

• Direct access to sensitive data – APIs often handle personally identifiable information (PII), financial records, healthcare data, and authentication credentials.
• Increasing attack surface – Unlike traditional web applications, APIs expose numerous endpoints, making them easier to exploit.
• Automated attack tools – Hackers leverage bots and AI-driven tools to scan for vulnerable APIs and launch attacks at scale.
• Inadequate security measures – Many organisations prioritise functionality over security, leading to weak authentication, misconfigured permissions, and excessive data exposure.

In 2024, multiple high-profile API breaches have exposed millions of records, highlighting the urgent need for stronger API security measures.

Notable API breaches in 2024

Sensitive Messages Breach (January 2024)

• What happened? A flawed API allowed unauthorised access to 650,000 confidential messages, including passwords and classified data.
• How was it exploited? The API lacked proper authentication checks, enabling attackers to bypass security and access user data.
• Impact: Sensitive user data was exposed, leading to potential identity theft and financial fraud.

Trello API breach (January 2024)

• What happened? An exposed API on Trello linked private email addresses to public Trello accounts, affecting 15 million users.
• How was it exploited? Attackers used an API query to extract email addresses, allowing them to link personal identities to public task boards.
• Impact:

1. Privacy violations – Users’ real identities were exposed.
2. Phishing risks – Attackers could target individuals using the leaked information.

Spoutible data leak (February 2024)

• What happened? An API vulnerability in Spoutible allowed hackers to access user data, including bcrypt-hashed passwords.
• How was it exploited? Attackers found an unprotected API endpoint that leaked sensitive user information.
• Impact:

1. Compromised accounts – Users’ login credentials were potentially cracked and misused.
2. Brand reputation damage – Spoutible faced backlash for failing to secure user data.

Common API security vulnerabilities

APIs have become the backbone of modern applications, enabling seamless communication between systems. However, poorly secured APIs present a significant security risk, allowing cybercriminals to gain unauthorised access to sensitive data, execute malicious operations, or take control of an entire platform.

According to the Salt Security API Protection Report (2024):

• 78% of organisations have shadow APIs that are unaccounted for.
• 50% of businesses experience between 10-50 API attacks per month.
• 84% of security professionals report at least one API-related security incident in the last year.

Understanding the most common API vulnerabilities is the first step toward securing your API infrastructure. Below are the top API security threats, along with real-world examples and best practices to mitigate them.

1. Broken Object Level Authorisation (BOLA)

BOLA occurs when an API fails to properly validate a user’s access level, allowing them to view, modify, or delete data they should not have permission to access.

Real-world example

• An attacker modifies an API request to access another user’s profile, payment history, or medical records by changing the user ID in the URL.

If the API does not properly validate that user 123 cannot access user 456’s data, the attack is successful.

How to fix

• Implement role-based access control (RBAC).
• Use object-level permission checks before executing API requests.
• Log and monitor API requests for anomalous access patterns.

2. Weak API authentication – stolen API keys and credential abuse

If an API does not properly authenticate users, attackers can steal API keys, tokens, or session IDs and gain full access.

Real-world example

• Facebook API Scandal (2018): Attackers exploited weak API permissions to harvest 87 million user profiles, leading to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
• T-Mobile API Breach (2023): A weak API authentication mechanism led to the exposure of 37 million customer records.

How to fix

• Use OAuth 2.0 and JWT tokens for secure authentication.
• Rotate API keys regularly to prevent credential abuse.
• Require Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for sensitive API calls.

3. Excessive data exposure – over-sharing sensitive information

Some APIs return too much information, exposing sensitive data even when it is not needed.

Real-world example

• An e-commerce API returns customer payment details when only order history is requested.
• A video conferencing API exposes user emails when fetching call history data.

How to fix

• Use data filtering to return only the necessary fields.
• Apply data masking to prevent sensitive information leaks.
• Implement access control rules to restrict data exposure.

4. Lack of rate limiting – API abuse and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks

If an API does not have rate limits, attackers can flood it with requests and either:

• Overload the system (Denial-of-Service attack).
• Brute-force authentication (Credential stuffing).
• Scrape large amounts of sensitive data.

Real-world example

• Instagram API Scraping (2021): Attackers used bots to harvest millions of user profiles, bypassing security controls.
• GitHub API Attack (2022): A botnet flooded GitHub APIs, slowing down repository access.

How to fix

• Set request limits per user/IP (e.g., max 100 requests per minute).
• Implement reCAPTCHA for repeated login attempts.
• Detect and block bot traffic with API security tools.

5. Injection attacks – SQL and code injection via API inputs

If an API does not properly validate user input, attackers can inject malicious SQL or script commands to manipulate databases or execute remote code.

Real-world example

• Tesla API Vulnerability (2022): Attackers exploited a command injection flaw in Tesla’s API to remotely control cars.
• SQL Injection Attack on Payment APIs: Attackers inserted malicious SQL commands in API queries to steal credit card numbers.

How to fix

• Use parameterised queries to prevent SQL injection.
• Sanitize and validate all user input.
• Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) to block malicious API requests.

6. Security misconfigurations – poor API deployment practices

Many APIs are deployed with weak security settings, including:

• Default credentials left unchanged.
• Debugging features enabled in production.
• Unprotected admin APIs.

Real-world example

• Twitter API Leak (2023): An exposed debug API leaked private user data.
• Optus Data Breach (2022): A misconfigured API exposed 10 million Australian customer records.

How to fix

• Regularly audit API configurations for security weaknesses.
• Disable debugging and verbose error messages in production.
• Use secure authentication for admin and debugging APIs.

7. Shadow APIs and putdated endpoints

Shadow APIs are undocumented, forgotten, or deprecated APIs that remain active but unmonitored.

Real-world example

• Equifax Data Breach (2017): Hackers exploited a forgotten API endpoint, exposing 148 million consumer records.
• Spoutible Data Leak (2024): A shadow API endpoint leaked user credentials.

How to fix

• Regularly scan for untracked APIs using security tools.
• Deprecate old API versions and enforce strict API governance.
• Monitor API traffic to detect unauthorised access to outdated endpoints.

Best practices for securing APIs

APIs have become the foundation of modern software development, powering everything from mobile apps to enterprise cloud services. However, they also present a significant security risk if not properly protected. Cybercriminals frequently target APIs due to their access to sensitive data and critical functionalities.

To prevent unauthorised access, data breaches, and service disruptions, organisations must implement robust API security practices. Below are the essential best practices for securing APIs, along with explanations, real-world examples, and implementation strategies.

1. Use strong authentication and authorisation

Authentication ensures that only verified users and applications can access the API, while authorization determines what resources they can use. Weak or misconfigured authentication mechanisms are among the top vulnerabilities in API security.

Best practices

• Implement OAuth 2.0 for secure access delegation.
• Use JSON Web Tokens (JWT) to securely transmit authentication information.
• Require Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for highly sensitive API actions.
• Apply Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to restrict access levels.

2. Implement rate limiting and throttling

APIs without rate limiting are vulnerable to:

• Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, where attackers flood the API with excessive requests.
• Brute-force attacks, where hackers attempt to guess authentication credentials.
• Web scraping, where automated bots extract large amounts of data.

Best practices

• Set maximum request limits per user, IP, or API key, e.g., 100 requests per minute per user.
• Implement progressive throttling, where repeated excessive requests lead to temporary blocking.
• Use CAPTCHA for login and authentication requests to detect bots.
• Implement 429 Too Many Requests responses to enforce rate limits.

3. Validate input and output data

APIs are vulnerable to injection attacks if they do not properly validate inputs. Attackers can inject malicious commands, leading to data theft, account compromise, or system manipulation.

Best practices

• Use parameterised queries to prevent SQL injection.
• Sanitize and validate all user input before processing.
• Implement schema validation for API requests to filter out unexpected data.

4. Use API gateways for centralised security

An API gateway acts as a security checkpoint, managing authentication, request routing, and traffic monitoring. It provides an additional layer of protection against unauthorised access and DDoS attacks.

Best practices

• Use an API gateway such as Kong, Apigee, or AWS API Gateway to filter, authenticate, and monitor traffic.
• Implement security logging and anomaly detection.
• Enforce IP whitelisting to restrict API access to known sources.

5. Encrypt data in transit and at rest

Data transmitted over the network can be intercepted by attackers if it is not encrypted. Encryption ensures that sensitive information remains confidential.

Best practices

• Use Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.2 or higher) to encrypt data in transit.
• Encrypt stored data with AES-256 to prevent unauthorised access.
• Avoid storing sensitive information within API responses.

6. Monitor API activity and detect anomalies

Real-time monitoring helps detect and respond to potential attacks before they cause significant damage.

Best practices

• Use logging and monitoring tools to track API requests.
• Implement automated anomaly detection to flag suspicious activity.
• Maintain detailed audit logs for forensic analysis.

7. Secure API endpoints with zero trust architecture

A Zero Trust model assumes that no user or device is inherently trusted, requiring continuous verification.

Best practices

• Require device authentication for API calls.
• Implement time-limited API tokens to prevent long-term access.
• Restrict API access based on geographical location and IP address.
• Use GeoIP filtering to block requests from high-risk regions.
• Enforce device fingerprinting for API authentication.

8. Secure WebRTC APIs for video communication

WebRTC APIs handle real-time video and audio data, requiring extra security measures to prevent eavesdropping and unauthorised access.

Best practices

• Implement end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for all WebRTC connections.
• Use SRTP and DTLS protocols for secure data transmission.
• Require token-based authentication for WebRTC API access.
• Require JWT tokens for WebRTC API authentication.
• Use TURN and STUN servers to manage WebRTC traffic securely.

Conclusion

As APIs continue to drive digital innovation, securing them becomes paramount. Implementing robust security measures not only protects sensitive data but also maintains trust and integrity in digital services. By adhering to best practices and staying informed about emerging threats, organisations can mitigate risks and harness the full potential of APIs.​