Web attacks against APIs and applications surged by 65% over the last year in the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, according to Digital Fortresses Under Siege: Threats to Modern Application Architectures, a new State of the Internet (SOTI) report by Akamai Technologies, Inc. Akamai also observed more than 26 billion web attacks globally against APIs and Apps in June 2024 alone.
“The APJ region frequently experiences web attacks targeting APIs and applications, a trend exacerbated by rapidly digitising economies. As businesses move operations online more rapidly to meet time-to-market pressures, development and security resources are further strained, often resulting in overlooked security processes. It is therefore extremely important to establish a robust set of best practices to enhance security and resilience in this environment, especially given the high concentration of web attacks observed,” said Reuben Koh, director of Security Technology & Strategy, APJ, Akamai Technologies.
Securing APIs and applications in APJ
The APJ region experienced a surge in web attacks against APIs and applications from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024, peaking at 4.8 billion attacks in June 2024. These attacks took various forms, such as data breaches, unauthorised access, and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks.
Emerging threat
Layer 7 DDoS attacks increased five times over the past year in the APJ region. Hacktivists employ such attacks by targeting the application layer of websites and online services, flooding and overloading them with requests to slow them down or make them inaccessible. With multiple elections happening in the APJ region this year, the area has become a significant target for malicious players looking to disrupt democratic processes through social media platforms and election-related websites.
Akamai reminds governments and businesses to strengthen defenses by deploying robust DDoS mitigation technologies, ensuring redundancy in critical infrastructure, and raising awareness against cyber threats.
