Akamai Research: Web Attacks Targeting Applications and APIs Up by 49% in the Last Year

Core Insights - Akamai Technologies reported over 26 billion application and API attacks in June 2024, marking a 49% increase from the previous year [1][2] Industry Overview - The report highlights that API abuse is a growing concern for businesses, with 108 billion API attacks recorded from January 2023 to June 2024 [2] - High technology, commerce, and social media are the most targeted industries, experiencing over 11 trillion Layer 7 DDoS attacks in 18 months [2] - The commerce sector faced the highest number of web application and API attacks, more than double that of any other sector [2] Attack Vectors - Common attack vectors include local file inclusion (LFI), cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection (SQLi), command injection (CMDi), and server-side request forgery (SSRF) [2] Security Recommendations - The report provides strategies to prevent attacks on applications and APIs, emphasizing the importance of resilience for organizations [3] - It includes a security spotlight on mobile app user agreements and regional snapshots for EMEA and APJ, offering specific data and case studies [3] Historical Context - This year marks the 10th anniversary of Akamai's State of the Internet (SOTI) reports, which provide insights on cybersecurity and web performance based on data from Akamai Connected Cloud [4]