WAF / WAAP
Can't detect API business logic abuse
No session or user behavior context
Doesn't monitor sensitive data in APIs
Validates schemas and rate limits
"API abuses will surpass injection attacks." - OWASP
Risk
Impact
Unknown & Shadow APIs
What it is
Uncatalogued endpoints or forgotten versions
Why it's missed
Outside gateway policies and specs
Impact
Unmanaged exposure → breaches, downtime and audit pain
Business-Logic Abuse
What it is
Valid-looking requests abusing role/object access
Why it's missed
Signature-based tools lack user-object context
Impact
Account/data overreach, material incidents, brand damage
Sensitive Data Leakage
What it is
Fields drift into responses and logs
Why it's missed
Chatty microservices; schema vs. runtime mismatch
Impact
Regulatory fines, legal cost, customer distrust
API Drift & Contract Mismatch
What it is
Undocumented params/methods after fast ships
Why it's missed
Specs lag code; reviews miss runtime
Impact
Breaking clients, outages, compliance gaps
Automated Abuse & Fraud
What it is
Credential stuffing, scraping, carding
Why it's missed
IP/rate rules are blunt; bots adapt
Impact
Revenue leakage, SLO hits, inflated ops spend
Over-Privileged Access
What it is
Weak scoping across tenants/roles/objects
Why it's missed
Static authZ checks lack entity context
Impact
Excess data exposure, lateral movement, insider risk
Operational Drag & Noise
What it is
Alerts without payload/identity context
Why it's missed
Generic logs; low-fidelity signals.
Impact
High MTTR, burned engineering cycles, missed real threats
Third-Party & Partner API Risk
What it is
Dependents and egress paths you still own
Why it's missed
Limited visibility beyond your perimeter
Impact
Downstream outages, data handling violations, blame