What is Microservices Security?
Microservices are a group of loosely coupled services that appear due to application’s architectural decomposition of components. If you look into any web-based app, it acts as a large security roadblock for your network. But there are API-based microservices with open ports, leaving more room for attacks.
Usually, microservices security best practices use API gateways, making the authentication process more complicated. However, individual APIs allow them to be configured separately. This goes for updates, which prevents any interruption in the application once its run on a few microservices. As a cybersecurity measure, developers place a distributed system in action.
And how do you keep your API and other applications protected? You’ve come to the right place. Here are some microservices security best practices to help you keep your organization safe.
Don’t Show Your Data in Plain Text
Machines can read and copy plain text. When working on personal identifying information, you have to make sure that it’s not being shown in plain text. Make sure all username and passwords are masked to prevent any data leaks.
However, adding encryption above HTTP/TLS won’t provide protection for traffic that travels down the wire. It can protect sensitive data (i.e., credit card numbers) from entering a request log.
Added encryption might help protect your data from attacks that might access the log data. However, it won’t help those with accessing the memory of application servers or data storage.
Denial of Service Attack Protection
Some applications fall victims to DoS attacks. Denial of Service is a series of overwhelming messages sent to the bandwidth with intentions of shutting the server down. These attacks come in difficult forms and can be hard to recover from.
And they can target the entire network stack and platform. Most of DoS attacks focus on the network pipe’s volumetric flooding.
There is a way to prevent DoS request attacks from destroying your APIs. You’ll have to set a limit of requests that are sent to each platform.
You can block API access if the request number exceeds the limit. Also, you need to analyze the current threat payload. Incoming calls from the gateway-API should also be rate-limited.
User Encryption
You should encrypt your user data before you persist it. You use cryptographic algorithms like Blowfish or RSA 2048. They help with data transmission and is safer to use. Make sure that the algorithm you choose is compliant with today’s industry standards.
Conclusion
With today’s microservices security best practices, protecting your API from external hacks couldn’t get any easier. By giving your IT team and your network the tools needed to encrypt data, you don’t have to worry about data leaks or other forms of network misuse. As businesses continue to use it, we can expect to see large organizations stay protected in the future. Do you have any questions about upgrading your company’s security? Ask us in the comments below.
