APIsec

APIsec is a SaaS-based API security testing platform that uses AI to automatically discover, test, and continuously monitor APIs for vulnerabilities without requiring access to source code or internal infrastructure.

What is APIsec?

APIsec provides automated penetration testing for APIs through a cloud-delivered platform.

The service learns your API behavior from OpenAPI specifications or traffic analysis, then generates and executes attacks designed to find security weaknesses.

The platform operates in a “zero-touch” model, meaning it does not require agents, code instrumentation, or direct network access to your API infrastructure.

Tests run from APIsec’s cloud against your publicly accessible or staging endpoints, making it straightforward to add to existing workflows without infrastructure changes.

APIsec focuses heavily on business logic vulnerabilities that traditional scanners miss.

Beyond injection and authentication flaws, it tests for broken object-level authorization (BOLA), improper access controls, and application-specific weaknesses based on how your API is designed to function.

Key Features

AI-Driven Attack Generation

The platform uses machine learning to understand your API structure and automatically generate attack scenarios.

Rather than running static test cases, APIsec creates context-aware attacks based on:

• API endpoint relationships and data flows
• Authentication and authorization patterns
• Parameter types and expected values
• Business logic inferred from API behavior

This approach catches vulnerabilities that generic scanners overlook because they lack understanding of how specific APIs should behave.

Comprehensive Protocol Support

APIsec tests APIs regardless of the underlying protocol or specification format:

• REST APIs: Full support including path parameters, query strings, and request bodies
• GraphQL: Mutation and query testing with introspection-based discovery
• SOAP: WSDL-based testing for legacy web services
• gRPC: Protocol buffer-based API testing

Import API definitions from OpenAPI/Swagger, Postman collections, or let APIsec discover endpoints through traffic analysis.

Business Logic Testing

The platform goes beyond technical vulnerabilities to test business logic flaws:

• BOLA/IDOR: Tests whether users can access resources belonging to other users
• Mass Assignment: Checks if APIs accept parameters they should not
• RBAC Bypass: Verifies role-based access controls are enforced
• Rate Limiting: Tests for abuse through excessive requests
• Workflow Bypass: Attempts to skip required steps in multi-stage processes

These tests require understanding of how your API is supposed to work, which APIsec learns from your API specification and observed traffic patterns.

Continuous Monitoring

Beyond one-time penetration tests, APIsec provides ongoing security monitoring:

• Scheduled scans run automatically against production or staging environments
• New endpoints discovered through traffic analysis are automatically tested
• Regression testing catches security issues introduced by code changes
• Alerts notify teams when new vulnerabilities are detected

How to Use APIsec

Getting Started

1. Sign up for a free or paid APIsec account at apisec.ai
2. Add your API by uploading an OpenAPI specification or providing the base URL
3. Configure authentication credentials (API keys, OAuth tokens, etc.)
4. Run your first scan

API Specification Upload

# Upload OpenAPI spec via API
curl -X POST "https://cloud.apisec.ai/api/v1/projects/specs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APISEC_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "project_id": "your-project-id",
    "spec_url": "https://api.example.com/openapi.json"
  }'

Authentication Configuration

Configure authentication for your API tests:

{
  "auth_config": {
    "type": "oauth2",
    "token_url": "https://auth.example.com/oauth/token",
    "client_id": "your-client-id",
    "client_secret": "${APISEC_CLIENT_SECRET}",
    "scopes": ["read", "write"]
  }
}

For APIs with multiple user roles, configure separate credentials to test authorization:

{
  "users": [
    {
      "name": "admin",
      "token": "${ADMIN_TOKEN}",
      "role": "administrator"
    },
    {
      "name": "regular_user",
      "token": "${USER_TOKEN}",
      "role": "user"
    }
  ]
}

Integration

CI/CD Pipeline Integration

# GitHub Actions example
name: API Security Testing

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:

jobs:
  apisec-scan:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Deploy to staging
        run: |
          # Your deployment steps here
          echo "Deploying to staging environment"

      - name: Run APIsec scan
        uses: apisec-inc/apisec-scan-action@v1
        with:
          apisec_token: ${{ secrets.APISEC_TOKEN }}
          project_id: ${{ vars.APISEC_PROJECT_ID }}
          scan_profile: "owasp-top-10"
          fail_on_severity: "high"

      - name: Download scan report
        run: |
          curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ${{ secrets.APISEC_TOKEN }}" \
            "https://cloud.apisec.ai/api/v1/reports/latest?project_id=${{ vars.APISEC_PROJECT_ID }}" \
            -o apisec-report.pdf

      - name: Upload report artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: apisec-security-report
          path: apisec-report.pdf

# GitLab CI example
stages:
  - deploy
  - security

deploy-staging:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - ./deploy-staging.sh
  environment: staging

apisec-scan:
  stage: security
  image: curlimages/curl:latest
  script:
    - |
      # Trigger scan
      SCAN_ID=$(curl -s -X POST "https://cloud.apisec.ai/api/v1/scans" \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $APISEC_TOKEN" \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
        -d '{"project_id": "'$PROJECT_ID'", "profile": "comprehensive"}' \
        | jq -r '.scan_id')

      echo "Scan started: $SCAN_ID"

      # Wait for completion (with timeout)
      for i in $(seq 1 60); do
        STATUS=$(curl -s "https://cloud.apisec.ai/api/v1/scans/$SCAN_ID" \
          -H "Authorization: Bearer $APISEC_TOKEN" | jq -r '.status')
        if [ "$STATUS" = "completed" ]; then
          break
        fi
        sleep 30
      done

      # Check results
      CRITICAL=$(curl -s "https://cloud.apisec.ai/api/v1/scans/$SCAN_ID/findings" \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $APISEC_TOKEN" | jq '[.[] | select(.severity == "critical")] | length')

      if [ "$CRITICAL" -gt 0 ]; then
        echo "Found $CRITICAL critical vulnerabilities"
        exit 1
      fi
  needs: [deploy-staging]

Issue Tracker Integration

APIsec automatically creates tickets for discovered vulnerabilities:

• Jira: Create issues with severity-based priority mapping
• GitHub Issues: Link findings to repository issues
• Azure DevOps: Create work items in your backlog
• ServiceNow: Open incidents for critical findings

Configure integrations in the APIsec dashboard under Settings > Integrations.

When to Use APIsec

Ideal for organizations that:

• Need automated API penetration testing without hiring dedicated pentesters
• Want to test business logic vulnerabilities beyond generic injection attacks
• Run APIs in cloud environments where agent deployment is impractical
• Require continuous security testing integrated with CI/CD pipelines
• Need compliance reporting for standards like PCI DSS and SOC 2

Consider alternatives if:

• You need runtime protection and blocking (APIsec is testing-focused)
• Your APIs are only accessible from internal networks with no external exposure
• You prefer open-source tools with self-hosted infrastructure
• You need to test APIs before they are deployed (APIsec tests running endpoints)

APIsec fills the gap between basic vulnerability scanning and expensive manual penetration testing.

Its AI-driven approach provides thorough API security assessment accessible to teams without dedicated security researchers.