NEWS
NEWS
Web attacks surge, APIs targeted, reports Akamai
Akamai Technologies has released a new report indicating a significant rise in web attacks, with APIs emerging as primary targets.
The State of the Internet report reveals 311 billion web attacks in 2024, a 33 % year-onyear increase. Akamai attributes this surge to the increased adoption of AI applications.
The report shows the substantial focus on APIs, with 150 billion API attacks recorded between January 2023 and December 2024. The growth of the AI API market and the integration of AI-driven tools have expanded the attack surface, with many APIs relying on weak authentication. Layer 7 distributed Denial-of-Service( DDoS) attacks against web applications and APIs also saw a dramatic rise, increasing by 94 % between Q1 2023 and Q4 2024.
Other key findings include that commerce organisations experienced the highest volume of web attacks( 230 billion), nearly triple that of the high technology sector. The high technology sector was the most affected by Layer 7 DDoS attacks( 7 trillion).
Incidents related to the OWASP API Security Top 10 increased by 32 %, and security alerts related to the MITRE security framework grew by 30 %. The report also identifies shadow and zombie APIs as vulnerable attack vectors.
“ AI is transforming web and API security, enhancing threat detection but also creating new challenges,” said Rupesh Chokshi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Akamai’ s Application Security Portfolio.
Gen Z and Millennials expect in-app payments or they’ ll take their business elsewhere
Anew survey of 1,000 US adults by NMI, a global leader in embedded payments infrastructure, reveals a rising preference for invisible transactions.
• Sixty-four percent of respondents embrace biometric authentication like Face ID or fingerprints
• Fifty-nine percent say the best transactions are the ones that feel like they never happened
While most consumers favour in-app and seamless payment experiences, savvy younger generations and busy parents are pushing businesses to adapt fastest. Among parents with children under 25 living at home, 72 % say they would prefer to pay for everything through an app if they could, compared to 53 % of consumers overall and 64 % of Gen Z and Millennials say they’ ll take their business elsewhere if in-app payments aren’ t an option.
For some generations, preferences remain divided; some consumers favour card-present and cash options and others are ready for transactions to be completely invisible.
For example, 43 % of Baby Boomers are uncomfortable using biometric authentication, while 40 % embrace it for its speed, security and convenience.
The findings highlight the urgent need for businesses to support a broader range of modern and innovative payment methods, or risk losing customers to competitors that do.
SaaS providers partnering with a trusted payments provider to embed payments directly into their software not only helps their clients offer flexible, secure payment options, but also unlocks new revenue streams from payment monetisation, a critical advantage in today’ s market. www. intelligentfin. tech
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