API Vulnerabilities and Bot Attacks Cost Businesses $186 Billion Annually

Businesses are losing between $94 billion and $186 billion every year due to vulnerabilities in APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and automated bot attacks. According to a recent report, these threats now account for up to 11.8% of global cybersecurity incidents, posing an ever-growing risk to companies worldwide.

A detailed study examined over 161,000 cybersecurity incidents, revealing a rising trend of interconnected threats from insecure APIs and malicious bots. Failing to address these risks could lead to severe financial and reputational damage for businesses.

APIs are essential in modern business, enabling smooth communication and data sharing between apps and services. They power everything from mobile apps to eCommerce platforms, but their widespread use has introduced new security challenges.

Data shows the average enterprise managed 613 API endpoints in production last year, and this number is set to grow as companies increasingly rely on APIs for digital transformation.

This growing dependence on APIs has expanded the attack surface, with API-related security incidents rising by 40% in 2022 and another 9% in 2023. APIs often provide direct access to an organization’s infrastructure and sensitive data, making them prime targets for cybercriminals.

The report estimates that vulnerabilities in APIs alone are responsible for up to $87 billion in annual losses, a notable increase from previous years. Contributing factors include rapid API adoption, inexperience among developers, and insufficient collaboration between development and security teams.

Bot attacks, on the other hand, continue to escalate, resulting in as much as $116 billion in losses annually. Bots, automated programs designed for specific tasks, are frequently used for malicious purposes, including credential stuffing, web scraping, online fraud, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Security incidents involving bots surged by 88% in 2022 and grew by another 28% in 2023, driven by increased digital transactions, geopolitical tensions, and advances in attack tools, including AI-powered bot evasion techniques.

Last year, 30% of all API attacks were linked to bots, with many exploiting vulnerabilities in business logic. As APIs grant direct access to sensitive information, bot-driven API abuse has become a critical concern, now costing businesses up to $17.9 billion annually.

Bots are increasingly used to bypass security measures, steal data, and exploit API logic, making them harder to detect and mitigate.

Large enterprises, especially those with revenues exceeding $1 billion, are disproportionately affected. These organizations manage vast API ecosystems across multiple departments, which are difficult to monitor and secure, leading to shadow APIs, deprecated APIs, and other mismanaged endpoints becoming prime targets.

The risks are even more significant for businesses with annual revenues over $100 billion, where bot attacks and API vulnerabilities account for as much as 26% of all security incidents. This underscores the urgent need for robust API security and bot management strategies.

To prevent the growing threat of API vulnerabilities and bot attacks, organizations must adopt comprehensive security strategies. This includes implementing regular API audits, encryption, and multi-factor authentication. Additionally, fostering better collaboration between development and security teams is crucial to ensure that API endpoints are protected from potential exploits.