Cequence Security provides a unified API protection platform that discovers, tests, and defends APIs in real time while managing bot traffic and preventing automated attacks.

What is Cequence Security?

Cequence offers comprehensive API security through a platform that combines discovery, posture management, and runtime protection with bot management capabilities.

The platform processes over 10 billion API interactions daily for customers including Fortune 500 financial institutions, retailers, and healthcare organizations.

What distinguishes Cequence from other API security vendors is its native blocking capability.

Most API security tools detect threats but require integration with a separate WAF or API gateway to actually stop attacks.

Cequence can block malicious requests directly without depending on third-party enforcement points, reducing the time from detection to mitigation.

Named a Leader in the 2025 KuppingerCole Leadership Compass for API Security and ranked #128 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 (2025), Cequence has built its platform around the principle that effective API protection requires understanding both the API landscape and the actors attempting to abuse it.

The platform also includes an AI Gateway that enables secure agentic AI access to enterprise applications, allowing organizations to MCP-enable applications without coding.

Key Features

Native Threat Blocking

Cequence deploys inline with your API traffic, giving it the ability to block malicious requests in real time.

This architecture eliminates the latency and complexity of routing alerts to external enforcement systems.

Blocking policies are granular, allowing security teams to:

Block known malicious IPs and fingerprints immediately
Rate limit suspicious traffic while allowing legitimate requests
Challenge requests with CAPTCHAs when bot behavior is detected
Allow traffic to proceed while flagging it for analysis

The inline deployment adds minimal latency (typically under 5 milliseconds) while providing immediate protection.

Behavioral Fingerprinting

Rather than relying solely on IP addresses or user agents for identification, Cequence builds behavioral fingerprints that track how clients interact with APIs over time.

This approach catches sophisticated attackers who:

Rotate through thousands of IP addresses
Mimic legitimate browser characteristics
Distribute attacks across many sessions
Use residential proxies to appear as normal users

Fingerprints incorporate dozens of signals including request timing patterns, API call sequences, device characteristics, and interaction behaviors that are difficult for attackers to fake.

Bot Management

Cequence protects against the full spectrum of automated threats:

Credential stuffing: Detects and blocks attempts to test stolen username/password combinations
Account takeover: Identifies when legitimate accounts are being accessed by unauthorized parties
Inventory hoarding: Prevents bots from holding items in shopping carts to create artificial scarcity
Content scraping: Stops automated harvesting of pricing, product, or proprietary data
Fake account creation: Blocks automated registration of fraudulent accounts

The bot management capabilities integrate directly with API protection rather than operating as a separate product, providing unified visibility across web and API channels.

API Discovery and Inventory

Cequence automatically discovers all APIs in your environment by analyzing traffic patterns.

The discovery process identifies:

Endpoint URLs and methods
Request and response schemas
Authentication mechanisms
Data types including PII and sensitive information
API changes and version differences

Shadow APIs that exist outside official documentation are flagged for security team review.

The inventory stays current as new APIs are deployed and existing ones change.

Integration

Deployment Options

Cequence supports multiple deployment models:

Inline (Recommended): Deploy as a reverse proxy in front of your API infrastructure for real-time blocking.

Internet → Cequence → API Gateway → Backend Services

Out-of-Band: Analyze mirrored traffic for detection-only scenarios where inline deployment is not feasible.

Hybrid: Combine inline deployment for critical APIs with traffic mirroring for broader visibility.

Infrastructure Integration

Connect Cequence to your existing infrastructure:

# Kubernetes deployment example
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: cequence-sensor
spec:
  replicas: 3
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: cequence
          image: cequence/api-sensor:latest
          ports:
            - containerPort: 8080
          env:
            - name: CEQUENCE_TENANT_ID
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  name: cequence-config
                  key: tenant-id
            - name: CEQUENCE_API_KEY
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  name: cequence-config
                  key: api-key

CI/CD Pipeline Integration

Run API security assessments during development:

# GitHub Actions example
name: API Security Assessment

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

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

      - name: Deploy staging environment
        run: docker-compose -f docker-compose.staging.yml up -d

      - name: Import API spec to Cequence
        env:
          CEQUENCE_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.CEQUENCE_API_KEY }}
        run: |
          curl -X POST "https://api.cequence.ai/v1/specs" \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $CEQUENCE_API_KEY" \
            -F "spec=@openapi.yaml" \
            -F "environment=staging"

      - name: Run security assessment
        env:
          CEQUENCE_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.CEQUENCE_API_KEY }}
        run: |
          ASSESSMENT_ID=$(curl -s -X POST "https://api.cequence.ai/v1/assessments" \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $CEQUENCE_API_KEY" \
            -d '{"target": "staging", "tests": ["owasp-api-top-10"]}' \
            | jq -r '.id')

          # Poll for completion
          while true; do
            STATUS=$(curl -s "https://api.cequence.ai/v1/assessments/$ASSESSMENT_ID" \
              -H "Authorization: Bearer $CEQUENCE_API_KEY" | jq -r '.status')
            if [ "$STATUS" = "completed" ]; then break; fi
            sleep 30
          done

          # Check for critical findings
          CRITICAL=$(curl -s "https://api.cequence.ai/v1/assessments/$ASSESSMENT_ID/findings" \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $CEQUENCE_API_KEY" \
            | jq '[.[] | select(.severity == "critical")] | length')

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

# GitLab CI example
stages:
  - deploy
  - security

cequence-assessment:
  stage: security
  script:
    - |
      # Upload OpenAPI specification
      curl -X POST "$CEQUENCE_URL/v1/specs" \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $CEQUENCE_API_KEY" \
        -F "spec=@openapi.yaml"

      # Trigger security assessment
      curl -X POST "$CEQUENCE_URL/v1/assessments" \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $CEQUENCE_API_KEY" \
        -d '{"environment": "staging", "profile": "comprehensive"}'
  rules:
    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"

SIEM Integration

Export security events to your SIEM for correlation with other security data:

{
  "siem_config": {
    "splunk": {
      "hec_url": "https://splunk.example.com:8088",
      "token": "${SPLUNK_HEC_TOKEN}",
      "index": "api_security",
      "sourcetype": "cequence:events"
    }
  }
}

Cequence supports Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, IBM QRadar, and custom webhook destinations for SIEM integration.

When to Use Cequence Security

Ideal for organizations that:

Need real-time blocking without relying on separate WAF infrastructure
Face significant bot and automated attack threats
Handle sensitive financial or customer data through APIs
Want unified visibility across web and API security
Require behavioral analysis that goes beyond IP-based blocking
Process high volumes of API traffic (millions of daily transactions)

Consider alternatives if:

You only need API discovery and testing without runtime protection
Budget constraints favor open-source solutions
Your API traffic is low volume and does not justify enterprise tooling
You prefer detection-only approaches with existing WAF enforcement

Cequence stands out in the API security market for its combination of native blocking, sophisticated bot management, and behavioral fingerprinting.

Organizations facing automated threats and requiring immediate response capabilities should evaluate Cequence alongside detection-focused alternatives.

Note: Founded 2015. Deloitte Technology Fast 500 (2025) #128. Protects 10B daily API interactions.