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TERMINOLOGIES

CAT EDITION
CAT EDITION
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

API Cache OWASP

API Call Client ZAP
API Economy DDoS Parameters
API Endpoint Resource Penetration Testing
API Integration Request Production Environment
API Gateway Response REST
API Lifecycle Response Code Red Teams
API Request Payload SDK
API Keys Pagination SDLC
API Layer Method SOAP
API Portal Query Parameters SQL Injection
API Security Authentication Webhook
Apigee Rate Limiting Over-Permissioned
API Documentation Container
Application

Framework Logic Flow

Burp Suite JSON

CI/CD Microservices

CRUD Monetization
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API

API stands for Application Programming

Interface, is a set of communication protocols
and routines that allow various services to
communicate between them

API Call

When you send a request to your API

endpoint, its called an API Call. That request
is processed at API end and you receive your
information as feedback

When you login to a site by entering

your credentials, you make an API Call
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API ECONOMY

API economy describes the exchange of

value between a user and a organization.

This lets businesses use APIs from other

services (like social media) in their own apps.
This creates a connection that allows users
to benefit from a platform without needing
to build the whole app themselves.

Ride sharing apps make calls to Google Maps

APIs to provide location based services
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API Endpoint

An endpoint is the end of a communication

channel. When APIs interact with other
systems, each touchpoint of interaction is
considered an endpoint.

An endpoint is where resource lives

such as a server, service or database

API Integration

In simple terms, API integration connects

two or more applications to exchange
data between them and connect to the
outside world.
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API GATEWAY

An API management tool that serves an

intermediate layer between the client and a
set of backend services.

It acts as gatekeepers and proxies that

moderate all of your API calls, aggregate the
data you need, and return the actual result.

These API Gateways are widely used to handle

common tasks such as rate limiting, load balancing
and usage metrics.
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API Lifecycle

API lifecycle is an approach to the API

management and development. It aims at
providing a holistic view of how to manage
APIs across its different stages, from
creation to destruction.

It is often divided into three stages such

as creation, control and consumption

API Request

An API request happens when developer

adds an endpoint to a URL and uses that
endpoint to call the server or database.
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API Keys
API key is a unique identifier that enables
other software to authenticate a user or
API calling software to an API, to ensure
that this person or software is a who it says
it is.

API keys often authenticate the API instead of

a user and offer a certain degree of security to
API calls.

API Layer

API layer is a proxy that joins together all of

your service offerings using a graphic UI to
provide greater user interactivity. These layers
are language-agnostic ways of interacting with
apps and help describe the services and data
types used to exchange information.
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API PORTAL

An API portal is a bridge between the API

provider and the API consumer.

API portals server to make APIs public and offer

content to educate developers about them, their
use and how to make the most of them.

An API portal provides the information about the APIs

at every stage of the API lifecycle.
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API SECURITY

API security defines a set of practices that

aim to prevent malicious attacks, misuse and
exploit APIs.

It includes basic authentication and authorization,

tokens, multi-factor authentication and other
advanced security measures.

The ubiquitous nature of APIs makes them one of the

favourite targets for hackers.
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APIGEE

Apigee is an API gateway management tool

offered by Google to exchange data across
cloud services and applications.

As a proxy layer, Apigee enables you to expose

your backend APIs in abstraction or facade and
helps protect your APIs, limit their rate and
provide analytics and other services.

It enables developers to build and manage their APIs

in an efficient manner.
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APISEC

Apisec is an API security company. It

leverages automated testing tools to find
logic flaws before your code hits the
production.

APIsec addresses the business need to secure

APIs before they reach production and provides
the industry’s only automated and continuous
API testing platform that uncovers security
vulnerabilities in APIs.
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Application

Application software is commonly defined

as a program or a bundle of different
programs designed for end-users.

Every program can be called an application and

often the terms are used interchangeably.

Framework

Framework contains libraries of code,

instructions and APIs from which developers
and API consumers can obtain information
from an app.
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BURP SUITE

Burp or Burp Suite is a set of tools used for

penetration testing of web applications.

Burp is an all-in-one penetration testing suite

that offers users a one-stop shop for all their
penetration testing needs.

It contains an intercepting proxy that lets the users see

and modify the contents of requests and responses
while they are in transit for granular control of your
APIs.
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CI / CD

Continuous Integration (CI) and continuous

deployment (CD) are a set of operating
principles and a collection of practices and
agile methodologies that enable development
teams to deliver better and faster changes to
their code.

CI/CD is one of the most important DevOps

practices as it gives teams the tools to focus on
meeting their business requirements, code
quality and security needs.
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CRUD

CRUD is an acronyms for create, read, update

and delete. It refers to the necessary functions
to implement a storage application.

Unlike random access memory and internal caching,

CRUD data is typically stored and organized into a
database, which is simply a collection of data that
can be viewed electronically.
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Cache

Cache is a software or hardware component

that stores data so users can access and
retrieve that data faster. Cached data might
be the result of a copy of certain data stored
elsewhere.

Cache reads data and retrieves it faster than

you would otherwise.

Client

Client is a device that communicates with a

server. It can be a desktop, laptop, smartphone
or Iot-powered device. Most networks allow
communication between clients and serveers
as it flows through a router or switch.
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DDOS

A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attach

is a malicious attack that aims at disrupting
the target’s traffic.

It usually overwhelms the target’s infrastructure

with a flurry of internet traffic aimed at saturating
the servers and causing them to shut the page
down.
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RESOURCE

Cache is a software or hardware component

that stores data so users can access and
retrieve that data faster. Cached data might
be the result of a copy of certain data stored
elsewhere.

REQUEST

An HTTP request sent by a client to a server

to retrieve or modify data. A request typically
includes a method, a URI and a set of headers
and/or a body.
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RESPONSE

An HTTP response sent by a server to a

client in a response to a request.

RESPONSE
CODE

A numerical status code returned in an API

response to indicate the success or failure of a
request.

Common response codes include 200 (OK), 404

(Not Found) and 500 (Internal Server Error).
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PAYLOAD

The data sent in an API request or response

often in the form of a JSON object.

PAGINATION

A technique used in APIs to divide a large

dataset into smaller and more manageable
chuncks. This allowed client to request a
specific page of data rather than receiving
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METHOD

The HTTP verb used in an API request such

as GET, POST, PUT or DELETE.

QUERY
PARAMETERS

Key-value pairs that are added to the end

of an API endpoint URL to specify certain
criteria or filters for the data being
requested
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AUTHENTICATION

The process of verifying the identity of a

client or user before allowing them to access
an API. This is often done using an API key or
other form of credentials.

RATE
LIMITING

The process of limiting the number of API

requests that a client can make within a
certain timeframe to prevent abuse or
overuse of the API.
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API
DOCUMENTATION

Detailed documentation provided by the

creator of an API, explaining how to use the
API and its various endpoints and parameters.

LOGIC FLAW

Business logic flaw result from faulty application

logic. It happens when an application behaves
unexpectedly.

A logic flaw allows attackers to misuse an application

and circumvent its rules to change how it performs.
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JSON

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a

lightweight data-interchange format based
on a subset of JavaScript programming
language standards.

JSON has the advantage that it is both easy for

humans to read and write and easy for machines
to parse and generate.

JSON format is completely agnostic to languages and

uses conventions that are familiar to programmers of
C-family languages.
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MICROSERVICES

Microservices are also known as microservices

architecture. It is a software architecture style
that structures apps as a collection of loosely
coupled and independent services or sub-apps.

They are highly maintainable services that

are organized to enhance an app, website or
platform’s business capabilities.
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MONETIZATION

API monetization is a process by which a

business can generate revenue from its APIs.

Since APIs enable users to access and integrate

data from different sources, they can be used
by different developers to integrate relevant
services within their products, digital services
or applications to become a revenue source.

APIs can be a source of revenue for both public or

private services and applications.
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OWASP

OWASP (Open Web Application Security

Project) is a non-profit organization dedicated
to enhancing software security.

OWASP offers a range of tools to help

developers and programmers secure the web
through open-source software projects,
hundreds of local chapters worldwide and
educational, training events.
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OVER
PERMISSIONED
CONTAINER

An over-permissioned container is a container

that has all the root capabilites of a host
machine.

It can access resources that aren’t accessible to

ordinary containers and users.

Over-permissioning can give malicious actors a

point where they can attack your infrastructure and
compromise your implementation of APIs.
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PARAMETERS

Parameters are special types of variables used

in computer programming to pass information
betwee procedures and functions.

An argument to a function is referred to as a

parameter. Adding four numbers may require
four parameters.
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PENETRATION
TESTING

Penetration testing stimulates attacks on your

computer system to identify exploitable
vulnerabilities.

It identifies, tests and highlights vulnerabilities

in an organization’s security posture.

Web application firewals (WAF) are generally

augmented by penetration testing in the context of
web application security.
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PRODUCTION
ENVIRONMENT

A production environment is where software

and other products are actually put into
operation in how their intended users intend
them to be used.

Developers generally use this term to refer to

the setting where end-users will actually use
the products.

In production, software programs and hardware are run

in real-time. They are relied on daily by organizations
and companies for their daily operations
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REST

REST (REpresentational State Transfer) is an

application programming interface that conforms
o the constraints of REST architectural style and
enables a quicker interaction between different
RESTful web services.

A stateless Web service must be able to read

and modify its resource using a predefined set
of operations and a textual representation.
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RED TEAMS

Red teams are cybersecurity professionals

trained in attacking systems and breaking into
them by finding compromised entry points or
exploitable logic flaws.

Red team’s objective is to improve a company’s

cybersecurity standing by showing it how they
managed to gain access and exploit their
system vulnerabilities.
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SDK

SDK (Software Development Kit) is a set of

instructions, integrated practices, code samples
and documentation that enables developers to
create software applications on a specific
platform.

SDKs can be seen as workshops with

everything developers need to build specific
software for a specific platform.
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SDLC

SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) is a

process for planning, creating, testing and
deploying an information system.

It aims at producing quality software at the

lowest cost in the shortest time possible.

It gives developers a structured flow divided into

phases to help companies produce high-quality
software products.
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SOAP

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a

protocol specification for exchanging structured
information to implement web services.

It leverages XML information set for message

format and other application-layer protocols
such as HTTP or SMTP for message transmission.
The messaging services provided by SOAP are
exclusively XML-based.

SOAP was originally developed by Microsoft to replace

old technologies that cannot work over internet such
as DCOM and COBRA.
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SQL
INJECTION

An SQL injection technique is a way to inject

malicious code into a databse that may damage
it.

These are on of the most common hacking

techniques and rely on the placement of
malicious SQL code statements via web input
using forms or other editable fields.
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WEB HOOK

Webhook or web callback or HTTP push API is a

way for an app to provide other applications with
real-time information.

They deliver data directly to other applications so

data is available immediately instead of standard
APIs requiring frequent polling for real-time
data.

Webhooks are beneficial to both consumers and providers

but their only drawback is the difficulty of setting them up
first.
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ZAP

ZAP or OWASP Zed Attack Proxy is one of

the world’s most popular free security tools
which ets delivers automatically find
security vulnerabilities in their applications.

By automating penetration testing and security

regression testing, developers can automate an
application’s security testing during the CI/CD
process.

Zap lets you do nearly everything you can do with the

desktop interface using its powerful API.
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About Tauseef Fayyaz

Full-Stack Engineer, Ranked #1 in Computer

Engineering (Pakistan), Career Mentor for
Aspiring Engineers, Tech Content Creator

You can request a dedicated mentorship session

with me for guidance, support, or just honest
career advice.

https://topmate.io/tauseeffayyaz/page/ofsztX71UK
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