How to make Web API more secure?

[Aayushi Sharma]

Is there a possibility to make web API calls more secure?

We want to make sure that the service account should not be misused.

Note: We already have IP address access controls on place.

[Dipen Wadhwana]

Hi @Aayushi Sharma ,

To enhance the security of your ServiceNow Web API, you can implement various best practices and security measures. Here are some recommendations:

Authentication:
Employ strong authentication mechanisms like OAuth 2.0 or API keys to verify clients accessing your Web API.
Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for an additional layer of security.
Avoid using basic authentication, especially over unencrypted channels, as it exposes credentials in clear text.
Authorization:
Enforce strict authorization policies to control resource access. Only authenticated and authorized users or applications should access specific endpoints.
Utilize role-based access control (RBAC) to manage permissions and restrict sensitive data or operations.
HTTPS Encryption:
Ensure your Web API is accessed over HTTPS to encrypt data transmitted between clients and the server.
Use robust SSL/TLS configurations and keep them up-to-date to mitigate security vulnerabilities.
Input Validation and Sanitization:
Implement thorough input validation and sanitization mechanisms to prevent common security issues like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and command injection.
Validate and sanitize all user-supplied input before processing to reduce the risk of injection attacks.
Rate Limiting:
Implement rate-limiting mechanisms to prevent abuse or unauthorized access to your Web API.
Set appropriate limits on requests per client or IP address to prevent denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
Audit Logging:
Enable comprehensive audit logging to monitor API usage, including authentication attempts, authorization failures, and access to sensitive resources.
Regularly review audit logs to identify suspicious activities and potential security incidents.
Security Headers:
Utilize security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, and X-XSS-Protection to safeguard against common web vulnerabilities.
Implementing these best practices will enhance the security of your ServiceNow Web API.

Please mark this response as helpful if your question has been answered correctly.

[Aayushi Sharma]

@Dipen Wadhwana , Thanks for such informative response.

Though if service account's credentials are with a developer, he/she still can get access token through OAuth 2.0.

How can we make sure that no unauthorized access is made.