USE CASE

API Discovery and Inventory

The foundation of application and API security

APIs are the connective tissue between modern applications. They enable innovation, accelerate digital transformation, and connect services across cloud, mobile, and on-premises environments. But that same ubiquity creates risk. Most organizations today don’t actually know how many APIs they have or where all of them live. That’s where API discovery and inventory come in. These practices form the foundation of a strong API security program, ensuring visibility, control, and governance across every API that touches your environment, whether internal, external, or third-party.
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A conceptual illustration depicting an ecosystem of scattered APIs available for inventory

What Makes Up a Complete API Inventory? 

A complete API inventory goes far beyond a simple list of endpoints. Ideally, it’s a living, detailed record of every API asset in your ecosystem, providing a strong foundation for effective monitoring, risk assessment, and compliance management. A robust inventory should include:
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Attack surface discovery

provides an attacker’s view of the API hosts and endpoints that are available
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Runtime discovery

identifies APIs via traffic, enabling the discovery of known APIs as well as shadow and zombie APIs 
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API definitions

API specifications that provide an understanding of how an API should function 
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API data flows

documents, sometimes visually, how data flows between multiple network components including APIs 
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Hosts and their API endpoints

a comprehensive inventory should include API hosts as well as their endpoints 
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Shadow APIs

undocumented API endpoints whose Host/BasePath match an existing API definition
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Data sensitivity

automatically detecting whether the API transacts sensitive data or not
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API specification drift

API endpoints with detected characteristics that deviate from the specification
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API scope

identifying each API as internal, external, or third-party

The Security Risks of Outdated API Inventories

APIs evolve constantly. New services are deployed, old ones are retired, and third-party connections change. Even a comprehensive inventory can drift out of date quickly if it’s not maintained automatically. When inventories lag, “API sprawl” occurs and security teams lose situational awareness. An out-of-date API inventory can cause the proliferation of shadow APIs, zombie APIs, and untracked third-party drift. Gaps appear between what’s documented and what’s actually live, creating the perfect environment for attackers to thrive.
A conceptual illustration depicting an outdated API inventory at risk for attacks.

The Security Risks of Outdated API Inventories

An incomplete or outdated API inventory invites risk. You can’t protect what you can’t see, and unseen APIs are often the easiest to exploit. Without regular discovery, organizations face:
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Increased Attack Surface

Unknown and unmanaged APIs provide new entry points for attackers

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Sensitive Data Exposure

Shadow or zombie APIs can leak sensitive data to attackers

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Compliance Violations

Unmanaged APIs handling regulated data can lead to PCI DSS, HIPAA, or other violations

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Bot Exploitation

Automated attacks target APIs for scraping, credential stuffing, or business logic abuse

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Delayed Incident Response

Should a breach occur, outdated API inventories can slow investigation and remediation

Cequence Powers API Discovery and Inventory

Cequence Security eliminates the visibility gap with comprehensive API discovery and inventory management. The Cequence Unified Application Protection (UAP) platform automatically discovers all APIs — internal, external, and third-party — across your environment.
Two screenshots showing discovered API hosts over time and types of infrastructure discovered.

Attack Surface Discovery

Provides an attacker’s view into an organization’s public-facing resources to identify external API hosts, unauthorized hosting providers, and API-specific security issues.
Two screenshots showing the number of Published, Discovered, and Shadow APIs discovered over time.

Runtime Discovery

Automatically identifies all your API endpoints – documented, undocumented, third-party, and even shadow APIs to create a runtime API catalog.
Two screenshots showing discovered risk and sensitive data detected.

Risk Prioritization

Discovered APIs are inventoried and assessed for risk related to access control, sensitive data leakage, and compliance with the published API specification.
A screenshot showing the API inventory and associated specification.

Automatic API Spec Generation

If API specs are not available, Cequence can automatically create them, saving time and effort.
A screenshot of a reporting showing API traffic volume and how malicious traffic was mitigated.

Real-Time Threat Prevention

Cequence’s accurate bot detection allows organizations to block scraping bots with the confidence that legitimate traffic won’t be adversely affected.
Cequence’s comprehensive API discovery and inventory enables organizations to know what APIs are in use, where they are, and who has access to them.

Additional Resources

What is API Discovery and API Visibility?

What is API Discovery and API Visibility?

Read the Blog
API Inventory

Understanding API Inventory: Improve Security and Governance

Read the Blog
case-study-Reducing-API-Sprawl

Reducing API Sprawl with Inventory Tracking and  Risk Assessment 

Case Study

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