Educational Post: What Is an API Key?  An API key is used to | APEX WHALE LIBRARY

Educational Post:

What Is an API Key? 

An API key is used to control and track who is using an API and how they’re using it. The term “API key” can mean different things for different systems. Some systems have a single code but others can have multiple codes for a single “API key”.   

As such, an “API key” is a unique code or a set of unique codes used by an API to authenticate and authorize the calling user or application. Some codes are used for authentication and some are used for creating cryptographic signatures to prove the legitimacy of a request. 

These authentication codes are commonly referred to collectively as an “API key”, while the codes used for cryptographic signatures go by various names, such as “secret key”, “public key”, or “private key”. Authentication entails identifying the entities involved and confirming they are who they say they are.

Are API Keys Secure? 

The responsibility of an API key rests with the user. API keys are similar to passwords and need to be treated with the same care. Sharing an API key is similar to sharing a password and as such, should not be done as doing so would put the user’s account at risk. 

API keys are commonly targeted in cyberattacks because they can be used to perform powerful operations on systems, such as requesting personal information or executing financial transactions. In fact, there have been cases of crawlers successfully attacking online code databases to steal  API keys.
The consequences of API key theft can be drastic and lead to significant financial loss.

Furthermore, as some API keys don’t expire, they can be used indefinitely by attackers once stolen, until the keys themselves are revoked.