Securing the Digital Gateway: Closing Gaps in API Security

As organizations race to innovate in the Digital+ economy, APIs are doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes. This transformation hasn’t just increased the number of APIs—it’s fundamentally changed how they’re used. 

APIs are no longer confined to isolated functions; they now act as the connective tissue across every layer of an organization’s digital infrastructure. However, with this growth comes fragmentation, making it more challenging to track, manage, and secure the entire API landscape. 

The API Fabric

Back in 2012, APIs were relatively simple, primarily serving mobile applications and basic web integrations. Fast-forward to today, and we’ve entered the age of API sprawl. Organizations have developed a vast, complex web of APIs—an API fabric—that connects internal systems, third-party tools, and cloud platforms. And it’s growing fast.

Today, more than 80% of all internet traffic flows through APIs, and that number is expected to grow significantly with the rise of Agentic AI models and automation. Yet most organizations still lack full visibility into their API environment. They may monitor a handful of “known” APIs. But shadow APIs, deprecated endpoints, zombie APIs, and third-party connections often slip through the cracks, creating blind spots for attackers to exploit. 

The Challenge

Analyst firms have identified API abuse as one of the biggest attack vectors in modern applications. These aren't loud, obvious threats. They're low-and-slow attacks designed to evade detection. Breaches like those of Ticketmaster (560M users affected; 2024) and Meta (29M users affected; 2018) demonstrate the severe damage that can result from these blind spots.

Underlying these breaches are several core challenges that many organizations face. These include limited visibility, a lack of governance, outdated detection tools, and testing limitations resulting from missing or incomplete API documentation. These issues make it hard to understand what’s exposed—let alone protect it.

Solving the Problem

To tackle these challenges, HCL AppScan launched HCL AppScan API Security– powered by Salt Security– to deliver continuous API discovery, posture governance, and advanced testing in a comprehensive solution. 

Salt’s cloud-native discovery approach automatically maps all APIs across your environment, including hidden, deprecated, or shadow APIs. Collecting live traffic data without introducing latency gives security teams deep, real-time visibility into how APIs are actually used and where sensitive data is flowing. 

On the testing side, HCL AppScan’s dynamic application security testing (DAST) leverages Salt’s live data to test APIs continuously. This enables continuous API security from development through production, providing a solution across discovery, governance, and testing. 

Key Benefits of HCL AppScan API Security

• Get an attacker’s view of your API environment with live traffic insights
• Instantly generate a rich API inventory and OpenAPI definitions for testing
• Run targeted DAST scans using real-world usage data
• Access Policy Hub for one-click security policy enforcement
• Benchmark your API security posture and identify vulnerabilities in runtime and code
• Ensure compliance with built-in alignment to OWASP, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR

Ready to Take Control of Your API Ecosystem?

Discover an API security solution that integrates effortlessly with your existing workflows—without adding overhead.

Request a demo of HCL AppScan API Security to experience streamlined, scalable protection built for modern API ecosystems.