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*** ** * ** ***

# API Security

Discover, profile and protect APIs in real time.  
![API Security Front](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/usecases/api-security/Top-Screenshot-front.png)  
![](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/x-white.svg)  
![API Security Front](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/usecases/api-security/Top-Screenshot-front.png)  
WHY IT MATTERSOUR APPROACHCAPABILITIES

* [WHY IT MATTERS](#why)
* [OUR APPROACH](#approach)
* [CAPABILITIES](#modules)  
  {#why}

## APIs expose applications and sensitive data to the internet, making them prime targets for attackers. 92% of organizations have experienced at least one security incident related to insecure APIs in the last 12 months, that can cause loss of business revenues and privacy violations.

### Lack of context for API-related risks

Many API gateways and monitoring solutions can't identify risk or protect APIs from attack. Teams can't correlate and prioritize API risks due to multiple factors such as misconfigurations, logic flaws and vulnerabilities, applications and data exposed to attackers.

### Lack of context into API-related risks

Many API gateways and monitoring solutions can't identify risk or protect APIs from attack. Teams can't correlate and prioritize API risks due to multiple factors such as misconfigurations, logic flaws and vulnerabilities, applications and data exposed to attackers.

Security teams need to ensure their APIs have protection from attacks exploiting broken access, overly permissive access, injection flaws and other OWASP API Security Top 10 threats.

### Limited protection against attack

APIs require real-time protection against malicious attacks beyond visibility and risk management. Security teams need to ensure that their APIs have comprehensive protection against attacks in the OWASP Top 10 for APIs, malicious bots, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and zero-day exploits.

## Secure Your APIs with Confidence

Cortex^®^ Cloud provides complete API discovery, risk profiling and real-time protection integrated into our cloud-native application protection platform. Protect all APIs against the OWASP API Top 10 attacks, manage vulnerabilities, ensure compliance and protect them at runtime.

* Continuous visibility into APIs.
* Prioritize API risks with context.
* Protect APIs in real-time across leading attack vectors.
* Inline and out-of-band deployment.
* Full lifecycle protection and integration into your CI/CD pipeline.
* ![API discovery](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/icons/Icon_1_%20API-discovery.svg)
  API discovery
* ![API risk profiling](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/icons/Icon_2_%20API%20-risk-profiling.svg)
  API risk profiling
* ![Real-time protection](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/icons/Icon_3_Real-time-protection.svg)
  Real-time protection
* ![Flexible deployment options](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/icons/Icon_5_Flexible-deployment.svg)
  Flexible deployment options
* ![Virtual patching](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/icons/Icon_4_Virtual-patching.svg)
  Virtual patching  
  {#approach} SOLUTION

## Our Approach to API Security

### API Discovery

Discover and take inventory of all your APIs, both internal and external. Gain visibility into all APIs, including rogue APIs, zombie APIs and shadow APIs.

* 

#### Autodiscover APIs

Automatically detect external, internal and third-party API services in all your cloud-native environments.
\*

#### Identify all APIs

Get a detailed view of exposed APIs --- including unknown, shadow and zombie APIs --- to understand the attack surface.
\*

#### Track observations

Explore real-time and historical metrics on security coverage, traffic activity, attack types and traffic sources, along with API observations and unprotected web applications discovery.  
[![API Discovery](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/usecases/api-security/Approach-1_API_Discovery_2880x1800.png)](#prismastickyimagecomapproach1_prisma-custom-background_prismacustombackgrou_819784551_cleanParsys_api-security_cloud_cortex_en_US_pan_content_)

### API Risk Profiling

Profile your APIs to help prioritize risk. Gain insights with contextual information from business logic, sensitive data, workload vulnerabilities, API traffic and more.

* 

#### Profile API risks

View all risk factors based on workload vulnerabilities, exploit data and application context.
\*

#### Detailed API observations

Get visibility into the API request and response to find sensitive data, security flaws and to generate OpenAPI specifications.
\*

#### Audit APIs

Generate the basis of an OpenAPI schema and API definitions.
\*

#### Advanced analytics for investigations

Use analytics to observe API events in aggregate from different points of view. Filter them and dive into individual events for incident investigations.
\*

#### API change detection

Continuously monitor APIs for changes leading to unwanted risk as development teams make frequent changes and updates to APIs.  
[![API Risk Profiling](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/usecases/api-security/Approach-2_API-Risk-Profiling_2880x1800.png)](#prismastickyimagecomapproach2_prisma-custom-background_prismacustombackgrou_819784551_cleanParsys_api-security_cloud_cortex_en_US_pan_content_)

### Real-Time Protection

Identify and stop the attacks that web application firewalls (WAFs) and API gateways miss. Protect APIs in real-time from the OWASP API Security Top 10 risks, as well as advanced DoS threats, bot attacks, file upload attacks and access control issues.

* 

#### Secure APIs against Layer 7 attacks

Simplify enforcement of positive API definitions based on OpenAPI, Swagger file or manual customization.
\*

#### Protect APIs against abuse

Protections cover OWASP API Security Top 10 including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, code injection and more.
\*

#### Manage bot risks

Gain visibility and protection into bad bots, known good bots, headless browsers and other automation frameworks accessing protected web applications and APIs, including static and dynamic detections.
\*

#### Stop DoS attacks

Enforce the rate limit on IPs or sessions to protect against high-rate and "low-and-slow" application-layer DoS attacks.
\*

#### Control Access

Restrict access to your APIs based on geographical locations, IP ranges and client types.
\*

#### Enforce secure file uploading policies

For applications that allow users to upload files, enforce file upload restrictions based on file extension and content.  
[![Real-Time Protection](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/usecases/api-security/Approach-3_OWASP-Top-10-Protection_2880x1800.png)](#prismastickyimagecomapproach4_prisma-custom-background_prismacustombackgrou_819784551_cleanParsys_api-security_cloud_cortex_en_US_pan_content_)

### Flexible Deployment Options

Gain insights into all API-related risks --- and without impacting application performance. Get both visibility and protection with inline and out-of-band deployment options, depending on your application's requirements.

* 

#### Inline agent-based protection

Get real-time visibility, alerting and protecting against API abuse and web-based attacks.
\*

#### Out-of-band visibility

Utilize full application-layer visibility into APIs and detect and alert against application-layer attacks in near-real time, without applying any latency or risk to the application.
\*

#### Auto scale capability

As your application grows in your deployment, the number of defenders grows, ensuring full and uninterrupted protection of your application.  
[![Flexible Deployment Options](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/cortexcloud/usecases/api-security/Approach-5_Flexible-Deployment-Options_2880x1800.png)](#prismastickyimagecom_275749595_prisma-custom-background_prismacustombackgrou_819784551_cleanParsys_api-security_cloud_cortex_en_US_pan_content_)  
{#modules}

## Additional Cloud Runtime Security capabilities

### Cloud Detection and Response (CDR)

Stop cloud attacks with real-time protection, detection and response.  
[Learn more](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud-detection-and-response?ts=markdown)

### Cloud Workload Protection

With Cortex Cloud, you can secure hosts, containers and serverless deployments across the entire application lifecycle.  
[Learn more](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud/cloud-workload-protection?ts=markdown)

### Web Application Security

Protect web applications across any cloud-native architecture, public or private.  
[Learn more](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud/web-application-security?ts=markdown)

### Container \& Kubernetes Security

Secure Kubernetes^®^ and other container platforms on any public or private cloud, from code to cloud^™^ with Cortex Cloud  
[Learn more](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud/container-security?ts=markdown)  
{#footer}

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