Why APIs Will Be the #1 Cause of Breaches in the Next 5 Years

Have you noticed something?

Most businesses today are building API-first.
But few are securing API-first.
And that is the disconnect attackers are betting on.

APIs have become the nervous system of modern companies.
They move your data, your money, your customer interactions.

They also expose your infrastructure, your secrets, and your gaps.

And this is not only a current problem.
It’s scaling. Quietly. Rapidly.

In the next five years, APIs will become the single largest attack vector in cybersecurity— not because attackers got smarter, but because too many teams stayed blind.

The Attack Surface Is Multiplying

Here’s why APIs are about to dominate breach headlines:

Explosion of integrations
The average enterprise now runs on over 1,200 APIs.
That number is expected to double in less than five years.

Invisible sprawl
As APIs grow across microservices, third parties, mobile apps, and AI systems, they’re becoming harder to track—and easier to forget.

Attacker economics
APIs are cheaper to exploit than networks, harder to monitor than endpoints, and often lead straight to sensitive business logic or data.

You’re Scaling Risk with Every Sprint

Here’s what I’ve seen across teams:

•  No real API inventory.
  You think you know what’s running but yiu really don’t.

• Shadow APIs everywhere.
  Retired features. Beta endpoints. Untracked dev experiments. All still live.

• Broken authentication and authorization.
  Because you assumed your API gateway had it covered.

• Developers are rewarded for shipping fast.
  Security teams often find out too late — or not at all that a new API went live.
  By the time they catch up, the exposure has already happened.

This Is Already Happening

Breach after breach.
Data leak after data leak.
And it’s always the same story:

The list goes on and on.
These are predictable outcomes from avoidable decisions.

Let’s Be Honest

• APIs are the most exposed, least governed part of your stack.

• They move sensitive data by default.

• They’re built fast, updated often, and rarely secured well.

If you’re not treating APIs as critical infrastructure, you’re already behind.

What the Best Security Teams Are Doing Differently

1. Inventory is automatic, not manual.
   If your API list lives in a spreadsheet, you’re already compromised.

2. APIs are classified by business impact.
   Some of your APIs can leak emails. Others can transfer funds. You must know which is which.

3. Security is built into CI/CD.
   No more “we’ll scan it later.”

4. Ownership is clear.
   Devs know what they’re responsible for. Security knows where to look. No finger-pointing, just accountability.

Questions You Should Be Asking (Right Now)

• Do we know every API that’s live in production?

• Are we using any APIs with unknown third-party dependencies?

• Can our APIs be exploited for lateral movement?

• What’s our response plan if an API is breached?

If those answers make you pause — then time to get to work.

The Next 5 Years Will Separate the Secure from the Breached

APIs aren’t “a developer thing.” We’re past this already right?

If you’re still treating API security like a developer checklist,
you’re building a future breach into your architecture.

The leaders getting ahead?
They’re investing in visibility, governance, and real strategy.

If that’s where your team needs to go, I’m ready to help you get there.

👉 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