APIs are one of the most widely used resources in the present era. Application interaction capabilities are not possible to achieve if APIs are used. As APIs carry data from one application to application, it’s important to keep them safe.  

Cyberpunks know the fact that if they’ve managed to have their hands on APIs and exploited them, they can attack the application easily. REST API, GraphQL, gRPC, and many other legacy APIs have been compromised.  

With the right kind of API tool, it’s easy to reduce the attack surface and keep APIs protected. In this post, we’re going to talk about the top 10 vendors that you can trust in this domain. But before we present you with a list of top API security vendors and dependable API security tools, let’s talk about API security and its importance.  

What Is API Security and Why Is It Important?

API security, in literal terms, refers to the collection of practices that protect the APIs from seen and unseen threats. It generally involves applying for role-based access, putting access control, limiting API usage, and API audits. All these are implied so that APIs are not over-exploited and corrupted.  

API security shouldn’t be compromised, especially in an era of cybersecurity vulnerabilities. As per Gartner, API abuse is the most common vulnerability in 2022. In 2021, there was a nearly 300% hike in API attacks.

If APIs are not protected properly, hackers can carry out attacks like MiMT, SQL injections, malware injections, DDoS attacks, and stolen authentication attacks on them. APIs carrying these vulnerabilities will harm concerning applications.

With proper API security resources, APIs can be well guarded, and threats can be kept at bay.

Let’s move to top vendors offering quality API tools and services.

Top API Security Products

#1 – Wallarm

Wallarm is a leading API security vendor that API users of all sorts can rely upon. Facilities like API authentication, Cloud WAF, threat detection, cloud-based scanning, and many more are offered. The tool is compatible with all the leading API types and is capable to work in all kinds of cloud environments.  

The vendor has been already used by more than 200 corporate clients and has over 20,000 APIs and apps. Certainly, this wasn’t by chance. It’s the outstanding features and facilities of Wallarm that are turning it into a reliable API vendor offering modern facilities.

Key Features

• It provides end-to-end API security services that help greatly in API scanning, testing, discovery, and resolution.
• Protects an API from all OWASP Top 10 threats, account takeover, L7 DDoS attacks, and malicious bots.
• It’s a tuning-free resource with fewer possible false positives.
• The API security platform can be part of your existing CI/CD pipeline and test the API from the time they are constructed.
• With virtual patching, Wallarm prevents 0-day exploitation to limit the damage.
• It provides real-time threat prevention as a vendor doesn’t bank upon any 3rd party tool for threat detection.

#2 – StackHawk

While Wallarm addresses the API security pain points and provides advanced resources, StackHawk can be used as an alternative. This is a DAST and API security-testing tool that integrates seamlessly with CI/CD pipeline and conducts API testing from the core. The API testing is a fully automated process leaving no possibility of errors and delays.

Key Features

• The API security tool only needs a Docker command to run an app to find out security bugs
• The tool provides a threat priority facility. 
• Developers can find out which API needs immediate attention and which one can remain due.
• There is a facility offered for code-based configuration, version control, and real-time collaboration.
• Bug introduction incidents can be easily tracked, and recommended action can be provided immediately.
• The logic that is used for blocking or passing the builds is highly customizable and addresses specific API security requirements.
• With OpenAPI integration, it supports modern-day APIs.

#3 – Beagle Security

If you want to keep your website and API well protected in the era of cyber vulnerabilities, try Beagle Security. The vendor has already served more than 1600 global businesses and has helped them to reduce the attack surface of your APIs. Its API security tool demands less integration and starts working instantly.

Key Features

• The API security is AI empowered and has improved case selection, less false-positive, and accurate vulnerability assessment.
• All the OWASP Top 10 and SANS 25 threats are covered by the tool. 
• As it’s an online tool, configuration hassles are not there to bother you much. 
• Dedicated GraphQL testing platform that comes with capabilities like auto-generation of compiled reports, easy API import, and assorted configuration options. 
• Powerful DAST tool with the least possible false positives instances. 
• More than 2,000 pre-built test cases to find threats quickly and accurately. 

#4 – Salt Security

Salt Security is an ideal API security platform to use when you need to manage the entire API life cycle and keep it safe across the API development journey. It works in all kinds of cloud ecosystems with the same ease and perfection. It provides comprehensive API security resources that work on REST, SOAP, GraphQL, gRPC, and other kinds of APIs.

Key Features

• Comprehensive API security is provided as it can gather all the concerning API traffic, coming from all the application landscapes.
• AI/ML is offered to make sure that API threat detection is quick and error-free.
• API testing and scanning are carried out from the development stage so that damage is as minimum as possible
• Early detection of zombie and shadow APIs. 
• There is no heavy deployment required. The tool provides more than 60 ways to copy the concerning API traffic that works on external, internal, and 3rd party APIs. 
• A patent API Context Engine or ACE architecture that is very accurate in finding the anomalies with great accuracy. 

#5 – Reblaze

Reblaze is a globally famous vendor offering advanced API security for web services, microservices, and mobile-native APIs. Its API security resources are easy-to-use and work with leading APIs and cloud ecosystems.

Key Features

• A client-side SDK makes the API traffic fully TLS encrypted and authenticated from source to destination. API communication is backed by an HMAC signature that makes unauthorized access impossible.
• Facilities like API schema ingestion, end-to-end validation, and detailed enforcement are offered that promote powerful protection. 
• The facility of reverse engineering ensures that API attacks are stopped in the early stage. 
• The API security platform offers a dynamic and adaptive traffic recognition facility that results in customized responses. With the API revolution, responses are also optimized according to the new changes incorporated. 

#6 – TeejLab

TeejLab is our next pick in this list of top API security vendors. As to why, the platform offers mainly five highly advanced API management tools that handle everything from API inception to conceptualization. 

TeejLab offers cloud-native tools that can be deployed in one or multiple cloud environments at a time. AWS, Azure, Oracle, and various other leading cloud ecosystems are compatible with this API security platform.

Key Features  

• Tools are designed to do early and accurate detection of hidden or shadow APIs by simply source code analysis.
• Deployment in the multi or single-cloud is possible using interactive IDE, CLI, and GUI support.   
• Advanced API security against OWASP top-10 and CIS top-20 threats is offered. The entire process of API security is fully automated and demands the least possible human intervention. 
• Flexibility is great as a wide range of 3rd party APIs and resources can be used in a highly compliant manner. 

#7 – Google Apigee Sense

Google never disappoints, and this is true for Apigee Sense as well. Any API behavior abnormality is a sign of a vulnerability, and Apigee Sense works on this fact only. This API security platform features an intelligent API behavior detection technology that is used for early threat detection.

Key Features

• An advanced visual dashboard provides key metrics like threat trends, bot analysis, and behavioral faults.  
• Countermeasures such as throttling, blocking, and bot sharing are fully automated and come into action immediately.
• The platform monitors the 
• API metadata call patterns and use cutting-edge algorithms to spot any abnormality.

#8 – Traceable

Traceable is worth your time and investment as this API security vendor offers tools that have the ability to counter top CVEs and top OWASP threats for your API. The uniform API testing capability of the platform is entirely-based on dynamic payloads and is capable of spotting rare business logic threats like BOLA. While you use the tool for API threat detection, be assured of quality results as the false-positive incidences are low.

Key Features

• It’s easy to trim down the FTE expenses with this tool as you will be doing threat detection and remedy at the early stage of the API lifecycle.
• Fast threat scanning that won’t disrupt the dev-release cadences of an application.
• Easy-to-download vulnerability reports that will feature details on CVSS/CWE score.

#9 – Cequence Security

Cequence Security is a famous API security vendor serving a global audience. While its key service is API discovery and risk analysis, it renders services like account takeover and web scraping. As an advanced API security resource, it takes care of risk assessment, API testing, and threat avoidance to help you out.

Key Features

• It can perform API testing on all the existing and connected APIs.
• The tool helps keep the API in compliance by ensuring that APIs stick to the Open API specifications without fail.  
• Provides countermeasures such as blocking and deception without asking for 3rd party integrations.
• It can keep hassles like BOLA, bot detections, and many more at bay.
• Account takeover is easily controlled for mobile and web APIs.
• Key API prevention techniques are offered without being involved in any mobile SDK integration and JavaScript.

#10 – Imperva API Security

Lastly, we have Imperva API Security to suggest you as a reliable API security tool. The well-known platform provides thorough API protection through deep discovery and threat response. By all means, the tools ensure that no private and public shadow APIs are reaching your system.

Key Features

• It integrates API security in DevOps and ensures that API threat detection is taking place from the beginning stage.
• Comprehensive Top OWASP threat prevention
• Cloud WAF that ensure API are fully protected
• Advanced bot and DDoS attack prevention
• Prevents credential stuffing

Conclusion

As APIs are going to be a mainstream application development resource, it’s not wise to ignore the security profile and leave scope for cyber vulnerabilities to corrupt them. As APIs are often used in huge amounts, manual API testing is not a viable option.

API users need advanced API testing tools that come with automated API scanning, detection, testing, and response capabilities. Vendors like Wallarm and many others are offering such advanced tools and services. 

Try their solutions today and make a step towards improved and secured APIs that lead to the creation of well-safeguarded applications.