APIs present a security risk—that much is a given. Attacks on APIs have caused some of the most significant security incidents of the past decades. But the question now is: How can we flip the script and leverage their power to enhance security? Bybit might just have the answer. Bybit—one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges— recently leveraged the power of an API in the wake of a devastating security breach that resulted in a staggering $1.5 billion loss.

API adoption has become a critical driver of digital transformation, fueling cloud migration, seamless integrations, and the monetization of data and functionality. This rapid expansion, however, has inadvertently created increasingly complex ecosystems that often outpace the security measures designed to protect them.

Healthcare breaches don’t just steal data; they erode trust, disrupt care, and cost millions. The 2015 Anthem data breach compromised 78.8 million records. Since then, attacks have only grown in frequency and sophistication, pushing the average healthcare breach cost to.1 million in 2022 (IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach). For years, healthcare security has focused on perimeter defenses, yet breaches keep escalating.

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is one of the most significant cybersecurity regulations for financial institutions in the European Union (EU). Failure to comply can have massive consequences, including financial penalties and forced operational downtime, meaning achieving DORA compliance should be a priority for all EU financial institutions. Implementing a comprehensive API security strategy goes a long way toward ensuring compliance with DORA requirements.

Speed is everything in the modern business world. Our attention spans are shorter than ever, consumers demand short and seamless interactions, and the slightest delay in service delivery can see organizations fall far behind their competitors. This is why real-time APIs are so important; they enable systems to communicate and exchange data with minimal delay, allowing for near-instantaneous updates and interactions to create a more dynamic and responsive user experience.