42Crunch announced the integration of 42Crunch's API security audit and vulnerability testing solution with Microsoft Defender for Cloud to provide Microsoft customers continuous API protection from design to runtime. Cloud applications are increasingly API-centric, with APIs at the core of data exchange. Inherently, APIs are easy to expose, but difficult to defend and traditional application security solutions are not optimized to protect APIs. Increasingly high-profile attacks on APIs have resulted in data breaches, leading to loss of sensitive data as well as reputational harm. 42Crunch and Microsoft have announced this partnership to enable developers to find and fix API vulnerabilities while giving security teams centralized governance across their APIs.

With Microsoft Defender for APIs, an offering as part of Microsoft Defender for Cloud - a cloud-native application protection platform, organizations can improve their security posture and quickly detect active real-time threats. Together with 42Crunch, development teams will be able to "shift left" by testing their APIs for security vulnerabilities earlier on in the development lifecycle. By combining insights and security findings from both solutions within the Defender for Cloud platform, security teams will have broad visibility and governance of the risks associated with their APIs from design to runtime. Additionally, operations teams will be able to leverage the native workflow capabilities of Defender for Cloud to accelerate remediation efforts.

Key challenges according to Gartner ® are "Protecting web APIs with general purpose application security solutions alone continues to be ineffective. Each new API represents an additional and potentially unique attack vector into your systems." Gartner recommends enterprises "adopt a continuous approach to API security across the API development and delivery cycle, designing security into APIs. Include API security testing and the creation and application of reusable API security policies."

Jacques Declas, CEO of 42Crunch, welcomed the announcement saying, "This partnership between Microsoft and 42Crunch validates our common vision of providing customers globally with a true DevSecOps solution to protect their digital assets from an ever growing array of attacks.

"It is well recognized that an effective API security strategy must start early in the software development lifecycle. This partnership between 42Crunch and Microsoft will enable customers to define, implement, and enforce API security compliance and governance across their API estate at scale," added Declas.

"Today's announcement strengthens Microsoft's CNAPP solution, Defender for Cloud, by expanding its capabilities to provide comprehensive API security coverage across the entire API development lifecycle. Our partnership with 42Crunch enhances Defender for Cloud's existing runtime API security capabilities by bringing added visibility into potential vulnerabilities that may be introduced through your DevOps pipeline," said Vlad Korsunsky, Vice President of Cloud and Enterprise Security at Microsoft. "Together with 42Crunch, we bridge the gap of API security from development to runtime and empower security teams to exercise governance over their API ecosystem throughout the development lifecycle."