APIs are the backbone of modern applications connecting critical microservices and enabling enterprises to turn data into context-aware business logic via AI across their digital services. As applications become more contextual, APIs expose the data, workflows, and model interactions attackers target, making them the enterprise’s primary attack surface.

KuppingerCole’s Leadership Compass: API Security & Management (2025) maps the vendor landscape and the capabilities you need — from continuous discovery to runtime protection and GenAI-aware controls — so you can reduce risk across the full API lifecycle. If you’re evaluating API security tools or planning a PoC, this report is the starting point.

Why you should read this (especially if you’re new to API security)

If you’re responsible for building, operating, or securing modern applications, this report is a fast, reliable way to:

• Understand the new API threat landscape (from prompt-injection to business-logic abuse).
• See an independent leader matrix and vendor capability maps so you can shortlist objectively.
• Get a practical PoC checklist that helps you test discovery accuracy, enforcement, and false-positive behavior before you buy.

Top findings — what really matters

1. APIs are the backbone of Applications AI transformation. Most AI-related risks (prompt injection, data leakage, model misuse) surface through insecure APIs — so securing APIs is the first line of defense for AI.
2. Business-logic attacks are rising. Attackers increasingly exploit intended API behavior (BOLA/BFLA) rather than just looking for code bugs — detection must focus on intent and business flows.
3. Shadow & zombie APIs multiply risk. Undocumented or forgotten endpoints create enormous, unmanaged attack surface; discovery must be continuous, and risk ranked.
4. Protection must span the full lifecycle. “Shift-Left” testing and CI/CD checks + “Shift-Right” runtime enforcement and forensics are both required — a single stage is not enough.
5. Platform thinking wins. Enterprises prefer integrated platforms that combine discovery, runtime enforcement, analytics, and governance — not a patchwork of point tools.

Why is Imperva recognized as a market leader in API security?

KuppingerCole lists Imperva among the Overall Leaders in API Security & Management, and their product analysis explains why. Imperva’s platform is built to protect both web applications and APIs from a single control plane — a major advantage in today’s distributed, multi-gateway environments.

Key strengths called out by the analysts:

• Unified WAF + API protection: consistent policy and enforcement across web apps and APIs — less operational friction, more consistent coverage.
• Continuous discovery & classification: ML-powered discovery that finds internal, external, shadow, and zombie APIs and ranks them by risk and data sensitivity.
• Schema-driven protection & testing: enforce OAS at runtime, auto-assess specs, and generate security tests from discovered APIs.
• Inline blocking + Attack Analytics: real-time enforcement with ML-driven incident correlation that turns noisy events into prioritized incidents and automated policy suggestions.
• Native integration with bot protection: integrated bot detection and mitigation that stops automated credential stuffing, scraping, and API abuse without stitching in separate tools.
• Transparent, privacy-conscious data processing & residency controls: granular data handling policies and residency options that help meet compliance and privacy requirements while minimizing data retention.

What that means for you: Imperva gives you a single control plane to enforce policies consistently across web apps and APIs, with the discovery → enforcement → analytics chain needed to protect AI-facing endpoints in production.

Quick primer — 3 things to do next

1. Run discovery now: scan gateways, clusters, and CI pipelines to build an inventory — tag high-risk APIs first (payments, PII, AI integrations). Aim for continuous discovery, not a one-time scan.
2. Monitor high-risk APIs first: use telemetry and attack detection to baseline traffic and spot abuse, then apply targeted policy protections (rate limits, auth, bot, and logic rules).
3. Design a focused PoC: use the report’s checklist to measure discovery accuracy, enforcement latency, false positive rate, and MTTD/MTTR — compare vendors against these objective metrics.

Final word — secure APIs, secure AI

APIs are where your data, business logic, and AI models intersect — and that’s where attackers will keep trying to break in. The 2025 KuppingerCole Leadership Compass report cuts through the hype with practical, analyst-backed guidance.

Download the 2025 KuppingerCole Leadership Compass – API Security & Management report to see the leader matrix, detailed vendor profiles (Imperva included), and the PoC checklist that will help you secure the full API lifecycle.

The post KuppingerCole 2025: Why Thales is a Market Leader in API Security appeared first on Blog.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Blog authored by Lebin Cheng. Read the original post at: https://www.imperva.com/blog/kuppingercole-2025-why-thales-is-a-market-leader-in-api-security/