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API Security and Hardening

One audit for every
attack surface.

Test, harden, and monitor your API endpoints. Whether you are running OAuth flows or managing secrets in production, we find what is exposed before anyone else does.

bithost-api-scan
$ bithost scan --target api.yourapp.com
Running API security audit... Checking OAuth 2.0 token validation Warning: JWT expiry not enforced on /v1/admin Critical: API key found in response headers Warning: No rate limiting on /v1/search endpoint Checking CORS and request validation
Token scope enforcement PASS
Rate limiting coverage PARTIAL
Credential exposure FAIL
Input validation PASS
$
Broken Object Level Auth JWT Misconfiguration Credential Leaks in Git Mass Assignment Excessive Data Exposure OAuth Redirect URI Flaws Missing Rate Limits Unrestricted Resource Consumption API Key in Source Code BFLA and BOLA Risks Insecure Direct Object Reference Scope Misconfigurations Broken Object Level Auth JWT Misconfiguration Credential Leaks in Git Mass Assignment Excessive Data Exposure OAuth Redirect URI Flaws Missing Rate Limits Unrestricted Resource Consumption API Key in Source Code BFLA and BOLA Risks Insecure Direct Object Reference Scope Misconfigurations
What we see every week

Most APIs ship fast.
Security comes later.

These are not hypothetical risks. They are the patterns we find on real APIs from real teams who thought they were covered.

01
API keys hardcoded into source code

Committed to Git repositories, exposed in CI build logs, or sitting in plain environment files with permissions that are far too broad for what they need.

02
OAuth flows built from memory instead of spec

Token validation gaps, missing scope checks, and redirect URI misconfigurations are the kind of mistakes that feel fine locally but create real exposure in production.

03
Rate limiting that punishes your actual users

When limits are too aggressive they block real traffic. When they are missing, scrapers and abuse scripts run unchecked. Finding the right balance requires a strategy.

04
Authentication that breaks under edge conditions

JWT secrets that are weak, token expiry that goes unenforced, and refresh logic that can be bypassed with a slightly unusual sequence of requests.

How Bithost can help

Specific work.
Real outcomes.

We cover the full surface of your API security. Each area below is something we actively test, review, or implement alongside your team.

API Penetration Testing

We probe your endpoints the way an attacker would. Broken authentication, authorization gaps, injection points, and data exposure get surfaced before anyone else finds them.

OAuth and JWT Review

We walk through your authentication flows end to end. Token lifetimes, scope enforcement, refresh mechanics, and redirect validation are all places where small mistakes have large consequences.

Rate Limiting Strategy

Rate limiting that blocks real users is not protecting you. We help you set thresholds that guard against abuse without touching legitimate traffic patterns.

API Gateway Configuration

Whether you are on AWS API Gateway, Kong, or NGINX, we review and harden your gateway setup from request validation to IP filtering and edge level protection.

Secrets Management

Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, environment hygiene. We help you move credentials out of code, set up rotation policies, and ensure sensitive values are not leaking through logs or headers.

Plain English Audit Report

At the end of every engagement you get a clear report. What we found, what it means for your business, what to fix first, and how. Shareable with your whole team.

Third Party Integration Review

Webhooks, partner APIs, and payment integrations each carry their own risk profile. We check how your API interacts with external services and where trust boundaries are poorly defined.

Monitoring and Alerting Gaps

Security without visibility is just guessing. We review your logging coverage, alert thresholds, and incident response readiness so you know what is happening in real time.

How it works

What an engagement
actually looks like.

1
Discovery call

We ask about your stack, your API surface, and where you are most uncertain. Thirty minutes is enough to understand your setup and tell you whether there is something worth looking at more closely.

2
Scoped audit or implementation

Depending on what you need we either audit what exists or help implement what is missing. We define the scope upfront so there are no surprises at the end.

3
Findings and recommendations

You get a prioritized report in plain language. Critical issues come first. Everything is explained in terms of what it means for your product, not just as a list of technical CVE codes.

4
Optional remediation support

If you want help fixing things we stay involved. If you need the roadmap and prefer to handle it internally, that works too. The goal is that things actually get fixed.

bithost.yaml
# Bithost API Security Engagement
# Step 1 — Discovery

engagement:
  type: api-security-audit
  target: api.yourapp.com
  scope:
    - authentication-flows
    - authorization-checks
    - rate-limiting
    - secrets-management
    - third-party-integrations

team:
  contact: hello@bithost.io
  nda: available-on-day-one
# Step 2 — Running the audit

scan:
  endpoints: auto-discovered
  auth-methods:
    - oauth2
    - jwt
    - api-key
  checks:
    - token-lifetime-enforcement
    - scope-validation
    - redirect-uri-whitelist
    - credential-exposure
    - rate-limit-coverage

status: running
progress: 68%
# Step 3 — Findings report

findings:

  critical:
    - API key exposed in X-Internal-Key header
    - JWT secret uses default library value

  high:
    - No rate limit on /v1/search endpoint
    - OAuth redirect accepts wildcard URIs

  medium:
    - Token expiry not enforced server-side
    - Refresh token rotation not enabled

  informational:
    - Verbose error messages expose stack trace
# Step 4 — Remediation

remediation:
  mode: collaborative

  critical-items:
    - rotate_exposed_api_key: done
    - replace_jwt_secret:     done

  in-progress:
    - implement_rate_limiting: in-review
    - fix_oauth_redirect:      in-review

support:
  type: optional
  style: hands-on or advisory
Business Impact and ROI

Numbers that matter
to decision makers.

Security is not a cost center when it prevents a breach. The data below reflects real industry averages and what our clients typically experience after an engagement.

$0M
Average cost of a data breach globally in 2024-25
0 days
Average time to identify a breach without monitoring
0%
Reduction in attack surface after a full API hardening
0x
Average ROI on proactive security vs post-breach recovery
Cost of a Breach vs Cost of Prevention
Estimated USD across company sizes. Based on IBM Security and Ponemon Institute data.
Average breach cost
Bithost audit and hardening
Threat Detection Time
Days to detect an active API threat, before and after Bithost engagement.
Before
After
Risk Reduction by Category After Hardening
Percentage improvement across common API vulnerability classes reported by clients post-engagement.
FAQ

Questions people
ask first.

Small teams are often more exposed than large ones, not less. There is usually less time to think through security when you are shipping fast. We adjust the scope to what makes sense for your size and stage. An hour reviewing your auth flow can surface things that would otherwise sit unnoticed for months.
Not necessarily. A lot of what we do happens through API documentation, endpoint testing, and flow review without access to your codebase. If source code review would be useful, we set that up under an NDA. We work the way you are comfortable with.
It depends on the surface area. A focused review of a single API or auth flow might be two to three days. A broader audit across multiple services takes longer. We give you a clear estimate after the first call, not a vague answer with no frame of reference.
HTTPS protects data in transit and that is one piece of the picture. API keys are only as safe as how you store, rotate, and scope them. Most incidents we see are not from skipping the basics entirely but from gaps in how the basics are actually implemented. It is worth verifying rather than assuming.
Yes. Some teams want the report and handle things internally. Others want us hands on through the remediation phase. We are flexible because the goal is that things actually get fixed, whichever way makes more sense for your team.
That is an ideal time to talk. Catching issues before launch is significantly cheaper than fixing them after you have real users. We can review your architecture and implementation decisions early while changes are still easy to make.

Not sure where
your API stands?
Start with a conversation.

Thirty minutes is enough for us to understand your setup and tell you whether there is something worth looking at more closely.

Talk to Bithost