Astra Security has launched its API Security Platform, designed to identify undocumented, zombie, and shadow APIs that threaten infrastructure and expose sensitive PII. Instead of relying on reactive, siloed detection tools, Astra’s platform delivers proactive, automated protection against attackers exploiting APIs to compromise systems.
Most businesses lack API inventory, and developers rarely run active security tests on the APIs they build. Astra API Security Platform solves for both, providing visibility into APIs that a company may not have known existed, and testing them autonomously for security vulnerabilities.
APIs power apps, from logins and payments to medical records, but unchecked API sprawl is now a security issue. As organizations undertake digital transformation and modernization, the number of APIs proliferates across distributed infrastructures. Zombie APIs, abandoned or outdated endpoints, often linger in systems and become easy targets for attackers. Shadow APIs, built outside official security controls, expose sensitive data and bypass governance.
Shadow APIs may lack proper authentication protocols, exposing sensitive data and creating a point of vulnerability. APIs can misrepresent the data they expose and who can access them without triggering a security alert.
The platform analyzes live traffic in real-time and runs offensive Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) scans across all APIs, applying 15,000+ test cases.
API exploits are rising fast, driving a 90% year-over-year surge in demand for API penetration testing. AI agent APIs and MCP servers are emerging risks: 23% of IT professionals report AI agents leaking credentials, while 80% have seen bots take unintended actions like accessing unauthorized systems.
“APIs continue to be the unguarded backdoor to corporate data,” said Shikhil Sharma, CEO of Astra Security. “Automated security tools tend to focus on web applications, overlooking APIs. All the innovation happening in the AI world, with AI Agents to MCP servers, has APIs as its backbone. With the release of the Astra API security platform, we can now discover, scan, and secure APIs in real time, closing the gaps before hackers can exploit them.”
Astra integrates seamlessly with NGINX, AWS, GCP, Azure, Istio, Apigee, Kong, and Postman to capture live traffic across cloud and distributed systems. Beyond automation, Astra combines 15,000+ automated test cases with manual penetration tests by OSCP-, CEH-, and eWPTXv2-certified experts. The platform also maintains a continuously updated API inventory built from real-world traffic.
“It’s essential to identify weaknesses before they lead to compromised data,” said Ananda Krishna, CTO of Astra Security. “By applying a hybrid strategy, our API Security Platform identifies security issues others miss, from misconfigurations and broken authentications to authorization flaws.”
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