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- If I Had to Secure an API in 24 Hours, Here’s What I’d Do
If I Had to Secure an API in 24 Hours, Here’s What I’d Do
Only 24 hours to secure your API? Start here.
Hi there,
Let’s keep it real.
If someone gave me an API today and said:
“Dami, You’ve got 24 hours to make this secure before it goes live.”
Here’s what I’d actually do—fast, focused, and with zero fluff.

1. Figure out what I’m protecting
Before anything else, I’d map out the API.
What endpoints are exposed? What’s sensitive? Are there any surprises?
You can’t protect what you don’t know exists.
I’m not starting with dashboards.
I’m starting with discovery.
What APIs are live?
Which ones are talking to sensitive systems?
Are any undocumented or unaccounted for (aka Shadow APIs)?
Is staging accidentally exposed to prod?
Inventory is everything.
You’d be shocked how many teams get breached by an API they forgot existed.
Before I talk security, I want a full picture of the attack surface — even the “oops we forgot that” stuff.
2. Control who gets access
Next, I’d make sure only the right people—or systems—can get in.
That means implementing authentication, removing public endpoints that don’t need to be public, and putting basic rate limits in place.
This step alone blocks a ton of noise.
Once I know what’s exposed, the next step is to control access.
Are we using proper authentication across all endpoints?
Are internal APIs gated off — or open to the world?
Any API keys or tokens floating around in URLs or headers?
I’d start cutting off public access where it’s not needed, and tighten permissions to a “need to access” basis.
3. Watch everything
Security without visibility is just blind faith.
I’d turn on logging and monitoring, so if something weird happens—I know about it before it turns into a breach.
If it’s not monitored, it might as well not exist.
Turn on logging for all endpoints
Enable anomaly detection for request spikes, abuse patterns, weird IP behavior
Track how tokens and credentials are being used
Without visibility, you’re flying blind — and hoping nothing crashes into you.
Monitoring shows you patterns — like which endpoints are magnets for abuse.
4. Scan for obvious vulnerabilities
I’m not digging deep just yet. But I’d run lightweight scans to catch the common stuff: broken auth, bad input validation, misconfigurations.
If it’s low-hanging fruit for me, it’s easy pickings for attackers.
This is where I bring in scanners — but not the noisy kind.
Lightweight dynamic scans
Check for broken auth flows
Scrub for hardcoded secrets, misconfigurations, insecure headers
Review input validation and output encoding
The goal is to find the obvious weak points fast — the stuff that attackers will spot in minutes.
5. Fix what matters most—fast
I’d knock out the highest-risk issues, flag anything I can’t fix yet, and make sure there's a clear handoff for long-term improvements.
Once I’ve got my findings, I’m prioritizing like a war room:
Anything exposing sensitive data? Fix now.
Exploitable auth issues? Patch or disable it.
Known issues with a workaround? Flag them clearly and document the risk.
Security is about being deliberate — fixing high-risk problems before they’re headlines.
And if it’s not fixed this week? It better be on someone’s roadmap, with ownership.
Final thoughts:
In 24 hours, I can’t build Fort Knox.
But I can make sure your API isn’t a sitting duck.
The process?
Focus on visibility, access control, and quick wins that reduce risk fast.
Need help securing your APIs under pressure?
That’s what I do.
👉 Book a free consultation with me here.
👉 Follow me on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with the latest in API security.
See you in the next one. 🔥
Talk soon,
Damilola