API Security Best Practices

Overview

When to Use This Skill

• Use when designing new API endpoints
• Use when securing existing APIs
• Use when implementing authentication and authorization
• Use when protecting against API attacks (injection, DDoS, etc.)
• Use when conducting API security reviews
• Use when preparing for security audits
• Use when implementing rate limiting and throttling
• Use when handling sensitive data in APIs

How It Works

🧠 Knowledge Modules (Fractal Skills)

1. Step 1: Authentication & Authorization

2. Step 2: Input Validation & Sanitization

3. Step 3: Rate Limiting & Throttling

4. Step 4: Data Protection

5. Step 5: API Security Testing

6. Example 1: Implementing JWT Authentication

7. Authentication Flow

8. Implementation

9. Security Best Practices

10. Example 2: Input Validation and SQL Injection Prevention

11. The Problem

12. The Solution

13. Validation Checklist

14. Example 3: Rate Limiting and DDoS Protection

15. Why Rate Limiting?

16. Implementation with Express Rate Limit

17. Advanced: Per-User Rate Limiting

18. DDoS Protection with Helmet

19. Rate Limit Response Headers

20. ✅ Do This

21. ❌ Don't Do This

22. Problem: JWT Secret Exposed in Code

23. Problem: Weak Password Requirements

24. Problem: Missing Authorization Checks

25. Problem: Verbose Error Messages

26. Authentication & Authorization

27. Input Validation

28. Rate Limiting & DDoS Protection

29. Data Protection

30. Monitoring & Logging