Application Program Interface (API) Penetration Testing

Though closely related to application penetration testing, an API pen test specifically assesses your API's security and can reveal more unique vulnerabilities that are not always discovered during other tests.

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What Happens During an API Penetration Test?

During an API penetration test, we directly interact with the API, understand it's intended use, all while proxying network traffic. Manual review and modifications are made to every request in attempts to make the API behave in an unintended manner and prevent unauthorized access or data breaches.

An API Penetration Test Can Help You:

Prepare For Real-World Attacks

Testing your API is an essential part of ensuring the security of your application. By doing so, you can identify and mitigate any potential vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by malicious actors.

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Improve Your Security Posture

Pen testing can reveal weaknesses in authentication, authorization, and access control, as well as any other potential issues that could be exploited. Testing your API would strengthen and protect it.

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Provide A Sense Of Security

An API penetration test would help to demonstrate that your API is secure and compliant with industry standards and regulations.

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Demonstrating Due Diligence

Conducting regular penetration tests can demonstrate to customers, partners, and other stakeholders, that you take security seriously and are taking consistent steps to protect data.

Schellman’s API Penetration Testing Methodology

Schellman’s API pen test methodology is designed to identify possible attack vectors, secure access control, analyze the underlying data, and check for vulnerabilities and weaknesses.

Understand the System and Its Target Environment

First, we familiarize ourselves with your architecture, components, and key interfaces so that we can then map out the API request-response flow and identify areas of potential attack.

Exploit Identified Weaknesses

Testers will use a variety of methods including fuzzing and different injection payloads, to exploit identified vulnerabilities. We’ll also check the authentication and access control mechanisms as well as the data structures and data types that the API handles.

Review Results

We’ll then examine all data returned by the API to detect any sensitive or malicious payloads that may have been injected.

Is Schellman the Right Firm for You?

Schellman does perform API penetration testing—our Penetration Testing Team continues to grow and is currently comprised of individuals from different backgrounds including former developers, system administrators, and lifelong security professionals. Our team is incredibly experienced, and collectively holds the following professional certifications, among others: