Modern applications rely heavily on APIs, making them a prime target for attackers. As API architectures evolved from REST to GraphQL, security challenges have also shifted significantly.
🔄 REST vs GraphQL: What Changed?
- REST APIs expose multiple endpoints → predictable attack surface
- GraphQL APIs use a single endpoint → flexible but complex queries
⚠️ Key Security Risks
REST API Risks:
- Broken authentication
- Excessive data exposure
- Lack of rate limiting
GraphQL Risks:
- Over-fetching sensitive data
- Deep query attacks (DoS)
- Introspection abuse
🛡️ OWASP API Top 10 Risks
- Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA)
- Broken Authentication
- Excessive Data Exposure
- Security Misconfiguration
🔐 Best Practices
- Implement strict authorization checks
- Disable introspection in production
- Use query depth limiting
- Apply rate limiting
✅ Conclusion
API security must evolve alongside architecture. GraphQL offers flexibility, but without proper controls, it increases risk exposure.