Every single day, billions of API calls happen across the internet. Behind your favorite applications, APIs work quietly to move data and connect systems. But with the growing use of APIs, API attacks didn’t just increase – they exploded.
Take the Optus breach in September 2022, in which attackers exploited an unprotected API endpoint and accessed the personal data of up to 9.8 million customers, leading to a $10 million fine. T-Mobile faced a critical API vulnerability in January 2023, exposing data from 37 million customers.
The harsh reality is that traditional security tools built for websites and networks don’t cut it anymore. Firewalls can’t catch API-specific attacks. Regular security scans miss API vulnerabilities. Companies often learned this the hard way after losing millions of dollars and customer trust.
This blog post will teach us about the API security companies leading the API security landscape. We’ll look beyond marketing claims and dive deep into their actual capabilities. So, let’s dig in.
What are API Security Tools?
API security tools are specialized software platforms that protect APIs throughout their lifecycle, i.e., from development to deployment. These tools scan API endpoints, monitor traffic patterns, detect unusual behaviors, and block malicious requests before they can cause damage.
Most tools come with dashboards that show real-time API activity, alert teams about potential threats, and provide detailed reports about API usage and security status.
Modern API security companies help development teams find and fix security issues early in development, track sensitive data flowing through APIs, and stay compliant with security regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.
Why Astra is the best in API Pentesting?
- We’re the only company that combines artificial intelligence & manual pentest to create a one-of-a-kind pentest platform.
- Runs 120+ test cases based on industrial standards.
- Integrates with your CI/CD tools to help you establish DevSecOps.
- A dynamic vulnerability management dashboard to manage, monitor, and assess APIs your web app consumes.
- Conduct 2 rescans in 60 days to verify patches.
- Award publicly verifiable pentest certificates which you can share with your users.
- Helps you stay compliant with SOC2, ISO27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, etc.
- Trusted by the brands you trust like Agora, Spicejet, Muthoot, Dream11, etc.
How to Choose an API Security Company?
Before learning about top API security companies, let’s look at some common factors to keep in mind before choosing a vendor.
Security Features and Protection Depth
An API security solution must offer comprehensive protection against modern attack patterns like injection attacks, credential stuffing, and data exfiltration attempts. The tool should provide real-time threat detection, automatic API discovery, and baseline behavioral analysis of API traffic patterns.
Market Experience and Evolution
Market presence and proven experience play a crucial role in provider selection. Companies with an established track record have typically handled diverse security challenges across different industries. This experience translates into better threat detection models and more refined security rules.
Customer Support and Community
Customer feedback and support infrastructure directly impact the success of API security implementations. The best API security providers maintain strong customer support teams that understand security and development concerns. Their response times to critical security alerts should be minimal, and they should offer clear documentation and implementation guides.
Compliance and Certification Capabilities
Modern businesses must adhere to various security standards like SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and GDPR (based on the industry they are operating in). The chosen API security solution should help organizations meet these compliance requirements through built-in controls, audit logs, and compliance reporting features.
The API security companies should also maintain their security certifications, demonstrating their commitment to security best practices. Their documentation should clearly outline how their tools help achieve and sustain different compliance standards.
Best 10 API Security Companies
1. Astra Security
Founded in 2013, Astra Security combines automation, artificial intelligence, and manual expertise of security engineers who have a combined experience of 50+ years. Our world-class scanner runs 10,000+ tests and compliance checks, ensuring comprehensive security coverage regardless of the threat and attack location.
Key Features
With a client base spanning various industries and countries, we offer industry-specific AI test cases, a GPT-powered chatbot, customizable reports, and seamless integration with your tech stack.
With comprehensive API pentest capabilities, we ensure zero false positives through vetted scans and include the ability to scan behind login pages, providing compliance reporting for PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC2, and ISO 27001. Moreover, our expert remediation support and publicly verifiable certification also.
Pros
- Pentest conducted by security experts with OSCP, CEH & CVEs credentials
- Publically verifiable safe-to-host certificates
- Seamless CI/CD, JIRA & Slack integrations
- Customized executive and engineer-friendly reporting
- Scan behind logged-in pages
- Zero false positives
- Quick expert remediation support
Limitations
- 7-day free trial is available
Astra Pentest is built by the team of experts that helped secure Microsoft, Adobe, Facebook, and Buffer
2. Akamai Technologies
Akamai Technologies uses its global edge platform for API security, building on its extensive experience in content delivery networks. The company processes trillions of API calls through its edge network, providing security at the network perimeter before threats reach application servers.
Key Features
Their API security platform focuses on three core areas. It offers continuous API discovery and cataloging, helping organizations maintain an updated inventory of all APIs. It provides real-time threat monitoring and protection at the edge. It includes advanced behavioral analysis to detect unusual patterns in API usage.
Pros
- Edge-based security provides immediate threat mitigation
- Excellent handling of large-scale API deployments
- Strong protection against DDoS attacks
Limitations
- Requires significant configuration for custom API protocols
- An edge-based approach might not suit all deployment models
- Works best when used with other Akamai services
3. Salt Security
Salt Security specializes in API security through a big data and AI-driven approach. The platform focuses on API threat detection and prevention by learning normal API behavior patterns and identifying deviations that could indicate security threats.
Key Features
The platform automatically discovers and catalogs all active APIs, including undocumented ones. It uses machine learning to understand standard API behavior patterns and detect anomalies. The system provides continuous monitoring and real-time attack prevention. It offers detailed API documentation and testing capabilities for development teams.
Pros
- Excellent at discovering shadow and forgotten APIs
- Advanced behavioral analysis detects subtle attack patterns
- Provides insights for both security teams and developers
Limitations
- Some advanced features require additional configuration
- Limited historical data retention in basic plans
- Can be resource-intensive for large API deployments
4. Traceable AI
Traceable AI approaches API security through distributed tracing and AI-based analysis. The platform combines application security with detailed API observability, helping organizations understand and protect their API ecosystem. Their technology traces end-to-end API activity across microservices architectures.
Key Features
The platform provides continuous API discovery and runtime analysis of API behavior. It maps API data flow and sensitive data exposure risks across services. Their system uses artificial intelligence to build detailed context around API usage, creating a behavioral baseline for API activities.
Pros
- Deep visibility into API data flows and usage patterns
- Strong microservices and cloud-native architecture support
- Real-time risk scoring for API endpoints
Limitations
- Complex initial setup process
- Requires significant system resources & may need additional configuration for legacy systems
- Limited support for older architectural patterns
5. Beagle Security
Beagle Security focuses on automated API security testing and continuous vulnerability assessment. Their platform emphasizes early detection of security issues in the API development lifecycle, helping organizations identify and fix vulnerabilities before they reach production.
Key Features
The platform offers automated API security scanning and vulnerability detection. It includes support for multiple API specifications and authentication methods. Their system continuously monitors API endpoints and automatically updates security rules.
The platform integrates with common development tools and provides detailed remediation guidance.
Pros
- Strong focus on automated testing
- Easy integration with CI/CD pipelines
- Clear remediation recommendations
Limitations
- Limited runtime protection features
- Basic behavioral analysis capabilities
- May require manual configuration for complex APIs
6. Metlo
Metlo positions itself as an open-source API security platform that emphasizes developer-first security. The platform combines API discovery, security testing, and continuous monitoring capabilities, making it particularly suitable for organizations that want transparency in their security tooling and the ability to customize their security approach.
Key Features
The platform delivers automated API discovery and endpoint mapping. It includes continuous security testing capabilities and sensitive data scanning. Their system monitors API traffic patterns and provides real-time alerts for security violations.
The platform integrates directly with development workflows and includes security rules based on industry standards.
Pros
- Automated sensitive data detection
- Community-driven security rules
- Customizable security policies
Limitations
- Enterprise features require the paid version
- Community support for the open-source version
- Limited advanced threat detection
Lock down your security with our 10,000+ AI-powered test cases.
Discuss your security needs
& get started today!
7. Imperva
Imperva combines its extensive web application security experience with specialized API protection capabilities. The platform provides multilayered API security through its cloud-based infrastructure, using its global threat intelligence network to protect APIs against emerging threats.
Key Features
Their solution offers comprehensive API discovery and classification. It includes advanced bot protection designed explicitly for API endpoints. The platform provides continuous monitoring and protection against API-specific threats. Their system includes detailed analytics and reporting capabilities, along with integration into existing security infrastructure.
Pros
- Strong DDoS protection capabilities
- Global threat intelligence network
- Advanced bot detection and mitigation
Limitations
- Complex configuration requirements
- Can be resource-intensive
- May impact API performance
8. Akto
Akto focuses on API security testing and runtime protection, emphasizing developer-friendly implementation. The platform combines automated API discovery with continuous security testing, designed to integrate seamlessly into the development pipeline while providing robust security coverage.
Key Features
The platform provides automatic API discovery and documentation. Their system includes continuous security testing with predefined test cases for common vulnerabilities. It offers runtime API monitoring and protection capabilities.
The platform includes detailed API inventory management, security posture assessment tools, and integration capabilities for development workflows.
Pros
- Easy developer onboarding process
- Automated API inventory management
- Built-in security test cases & CI/CD pipeline integration
Limitations
- Limited historical data retention
- Basic reporting capabilities
- Limited compliance reporting options
9. Wallarm
Wallarm provides API security through AI-powered threat detection and protection. Their platform combines traditional API security features with advanced machine learning capabilities to identify and block sophisticated attacks while maintaining legitimate API traffic.
Key Features
As one of the leading API security companies, the platform delivers real-time API threat detection and blocking capabilities. It includes automated discovery of shadow APIs and specification compliance checking. Their system provides advanced analytics for API usage and security events.
The platform offers integration with multiple cloud platforms and development tools while maintaining active threat intelligence.
Pros
- Strong cloud platform support
- Advanced AI-based threat detection
- Comprehensive attack blocking
Limitations
- Requires tuning for optimal performance
- The learning curve for advanced features
- Resource-intensive deployment
10. Data Theorem API Secure
Data Theorem API Secure specializes in full-stack API security, focusing on cloud-native applications. The platform approaches API security through continuous automated API discovery and security assessment, covering internal and external APIs across cloud environments.
Key Features
The platform offers continuous API discovery and security analysis across cloud providers. It includes automated security testing and vulnerability assessment capabilities. Their system provides real-time monitoring of API behavior and security posture.
The platform integrates security testing into the development process and offers comprehensive cloud security posture management.
Pros
- Continuous automated scanning
- Full-stack API analysis & multi-cloud environment support
- DevSecOps pipeline integration
Limitations
- Primarily focused on cloud deployments
- Complex setup for hybrid environments
- Requires cloud expertise & limited on-premise capabilities
Don’t cut corners on your security. Do it right.
Try for $7 for a weekFinal Thoughts
The API security landscape continues to evolve as organizations face increasingly sophisticated threats. Each security provider we’ve examined brings unique strengths, from edge-based security and AI-driven solutions to developer-first approaches and cloud-native protection.
Choosing an API security provider requires carefully evaluating your organization’s needs. Large enterprises might benefit from comprehensive platforms like Astra, Akamai, and Imperva, while open-source projects or development-focused teams might prefer solutions like Metlo or Akto.
API security is becoming a business imperative as APIs continue to form the backbone of modern applications. Your choice in API security companies should support not only current security requirements but also future growth.
FAQs
What are APIs in security?
In security, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) facilitate communication between different security systems and tools. They enable automated data sharing, threat intelligence exchange, and coordinated responses to security incidents. This interoperability improves overall security posture by streamlining processes and enhancing threat detection capabilities.
What is API security risk?
API security risks arise from vulnerabilities that expose sensitive data or functionality. Common risks include broken authentication, injection flaws (exploiting input validation gaps), excessive data exposure, and lack of rate limiting. These can lead to data breaches, service disruption, or unauthorized access.
How do I secure my API?
Securing your API requires a multi-layered approach. Choose robust authentication and authorization mechanisms like OAuth 2.0. Implement input validation and output encoding to prevent injection attacks. Utilize API gateways for traffic management and threat protection. Select security tools and partners with proven expertise in API security for comprehensive protection.
