Global organisations are struggling to maintain consistent application security across multiple platforms, according to a report by Radware. They are also losing visibility with the emergence of new architectures and the adoption of application program interfaces (APIs).

A major factor in these challenges was the need to adjust rapidly to a new remote working and customer engagement model resulting from the pandemic, leaving decision makers little or no time to conduct adequate security planning.



“With 2020’s rapid cloud migration, we were surprised to see the pervasiveness across organisations of dangerous levels of insecurity in mobile and cloud-based apps, as well as APIs,” said Michael Osterman of Osterman Research.

“With more than 70% of respondents reporting that their production apps have already left the data centre, ensuring the security and integrity of these data and applications is becoming more challenging, particularly in multi-cloud environments,” said Gabi Malka, Chief Operating Officer for Radware.

He added: “This migration, in combination with an increased reliance on APIs and the addition of unsecured mobile apps, has been a boon to criminals, leaving them ahead on the cyber security curve. While respondents who have already moved to the public cloud and have several apps exposed to APIs seem to understand the risks, those that haven’t seem perilously complacent.”

The report also disclosed:

API’s are the next big threat

There is a growing dependence on, and increased reliance on, web-enabled applications in the form of APIs. A wide variety of sensitive data types are processed by APIs, such as user credentials, payment information, social security numbers,. API abuses are expected to become the most frequent attack vector. As such, API security is the most critical hole enterprises should patch in 2021.

Enterprises unprepared for bot traffic

Bot management is also a major concern because enterprises are not prepared to manage bot traffic properly.

While web application firewalls offer important defensive capabilities to detect and prevent attacks against APIs and the like, bot management tools offer a robust defence against sophisticated bot attacks. And they give security teams a better grasp on dealing with a variety of threats and attacks.



The report revealed that only 24% of organisations have a dedicated solution to distinguish between a real user and a bot. Moreover, only 39% of those surveyed have confidence in their understanding of what’s going on with sophisticated bad bots.

Mobile apps far less secure

Mobile apps played a critical role during 2020 as most information workers were shifted to at-home work, and as most use mobile apps for entertainment, social interaction, education, and shopping. However, mobile app development is highly insecure. This is true, in part, because mobile apps are more commonly developed by third parties.

Security staff not the prime decision-makers

Despite the threats outlined in the report, security is not a first priority in application development practices. In approximately 90% of surveyed organisations, security staff are not the prime influencer on application development architecture nor the budget.

Some 43% of companies surveyed said security should not interrupt the end-to-end automation of the release cycle. This creates a situation in which the very people responsible for security have little control over how apps are developed.

DDoS attacks aren’t going away

The most common bot attack is denial-of-service, taking different shapes. Some 86% said they have experienced such an attack, with a third of them reporting weekly occurrences and 5% seeing them daily.

Denial-of-service at the application layer is frequently in the form of HTTP/S floods. Nearly 60% of organisations experience an HTTP flood at least once per month or more.

To read the full report, visit www.radware.com/resourc…rotection/