API Access Management

API Access Management is the secure control and monitoring of access to application programming interfaces (APIs). The aim is that only authorized applications, services and users can access APIs – with exactly the rights required by the respective use case.

The technical basis is standards such as OAuth 2.0 for authorization and OpenID Connect for identity verification: access takes place via short-lived, signed tokens with defined permissions (scopes). API gateways enforce these rules centrally, validate tokens, throttle conspicuous access patterns and log usage. A special feature: the majority of API access is not performed by humans but by machine identities – services, scripts and integrations whose keys and permissions must be managed just like user accounts.

In microservices and cloud architectures, in which applications communicate primarily via APIs, API access management is thus a central component of Identity Security: every interface is a potential access point and needs the same control as a login.