Finance and Insurance API Security: A Critical Imperative

The financial services and insurance sectors are particularly vulnerable to API security risks due to their increasing reliance on APIs for digital services. According to the 2024 State of API Security Report by Salt Security, over 50% of organizations in these sectors manage more than 500 APIs, making them prime targets for attackers. The report reveals that 62% of organizations have seen APIs increase by 50% or more in the past year, with 35% reporting an increase of over 100%. Despite this growth, 40% of organizations lack a plan to discover APIs across the organization, leaving them vulnerable to unknown threats. The report also highlights that 64% of organizations have experienced or are unsure if they have experienced an API security incident in the past 12 months. Cloud migration is a primary driver behind the increasing reliance on APIs, but this rapid expansion comes with increased risk. Alarmingly, 43% of companies discovered vulnerabilities in their production APIs over the past year, and only 7% of respondents said their primary APIs are updated daily. The report found that only 14% of respondents are very confident that their API inventories are complete, and 89% view Generative AI as a potential security concern. Despite these risks, only 1 in 5 organizations have an API posture governance strategy, making it difficult to identify and address API security gaps. The scale and impact of API breaches are increasing, leading to a rise in awareness of API security at the C-suite level, with 82% of CISOs considering API security a higher priority today than two years ago.