Azure API Management: Security, Governance, and the Future of APIs

Azure API Management: Security, Governance, and the Future of APIs

Introduction

At the Integrate Summit, a special podcast episode was recorded, catching up with various experts from Microsoft. This episode features an informative discussion with Mike Binsky, a Senior Product Manager from the API Management team at Microsoft. Over five years on the team, Mike has worked on numerous aspects of the product, and his insights into the challenges and solutions in API management are invaluable.

Discussion on Governance Challenges

Mike began by discussing common governance challenges in API management. He outlined two basic models for managing APIs in large organizations: the centralized model and the siloed model.

• Centralized Model: A single API Management Service is used for the entire organization.

  • Challenges: This model can lead to resource conflicts, difficult maintenance, and complex CI/CD pipelines.

• Siloed Model: Each team has its own API Management Service.

  • Challenges: This can lead to fragmentation and difficulty maintaining unified governance and API discovery across the organization.

Mike proposed a new federated API management model, which blends the two approaches by enabling segregation of the control plane and the data plane while providing centralized governance and visibility.

Workspaces: Evolution in API Management

Mike introduced "workspaces" as a major feature aiding in API governance. Available in preview for about a year and soon to be generally available, workspaces provide API teams autonomy by segregating their resources.

• Benefits:
  • Allows for control plane and data plane isolation.
  • Supports dedicated gateways per workspace for runtime isolation.
  • Promises advanced capabilities in the future, such as process isolation on shared gateways.

Integrating Security with Defender

Security is paramount, and Mike delved into integrating API management with Microsoft Defender for APIs, a part of Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Defender offers various features:

• Unified Security Overview: Monitors security postures of APIs.
• Traffic Analysis: Employs machine learning models to detect threats like brute force attacks and data enumeration.
• Configuration Insights: Identifies misconfigurations, including dormant APIs and unencrypted protocols.
• Data Classification: Detects sensitive data exposure, like social security numbers and credit card information.

Developer Portal and API Center

The developer portal aspect of API Management was also explored. Mike noted that while a unified developer portal is preferred for internal API consumption, the visibility of specific APIs can be controlled.

Workspaces vs API Center:

• Workspaces focus on segregating resources within the API Management Service.
• API Center, on the other hand, provides a centralized inventory of APIs across multiple platforms and stages, offering governance and discovery for APIs that may not currently have a runtime.

The Future of API Management

Mike shared his excitement about ongoing advancements, including:

• GrPC protocol support.
• A new gateway for native Azure Cloud solutions.
• Continued focus on security and governance features.
• Adapting to trends like generative AI.

In conclusion, API Management is continually evolving to meet the complex needs of modern enterprises, focusing on governance, security, and efficient resource use.

Keywords

• API Management
• Governance
• Security
• Federation Model
• Workspaces
• Microsoft Defender
• GrPC
• Developer Portal
• API Center
• Generative AI

FAQs

Q1: What are the common governance challenges in API Management? A1: The main challenges revolve around resource conflicts and complex CI/CD pipelines in the centralized model, and fragmentation and difficulty in unified governance in the siloed model.

Q2: How do workspaces improve API governance? A2: Workspaces allow for segregation of the control plane and data plane, providing teams with autonomy while maintaining centralized governance and visibility.

Q3: What security features does Microsoft Defender for APIs provide? A3: Defender offers a unified security overview, traffic analysis through machine learning, configuration insights, and data classification to detect exposed sensitive data.

Q4: How do API workspaces differ from API Center? A4: Workspaces are about resource segregation within the API Management Service, while API Center provides centralized governance and inventory management for APIs across multiple platforms and stages.

Q5: What future advancements can we expect in API Management? A5: Future advancements include broader support for protocols like GrPC, a new gateway for Azure-native solutions, increased security and governance features, and adaptation to trends such as generative AI.