The Shadow API Threat Explained by Akamai Technologies

Episode notes

What does it take to protect financial institutions when they're the number one global target for DDoS attacks? In this episode of The Business of Cybersecurity, Neil C. Hughes welcomes Richard Meeus, Director of Security Technology and Strategy EMEA at Akamai Technologies, to explore insights from Akamai's latest State of the Internet (SOTI) report focusing on cybersecurity trends in the financial services sector. Richard shares a decade's worth of threat intelligence backed by trillions of daily DNS requests and billions of cyberattack observations, offering a data-rich perspective on why financial organizations are squarely in the crosshairs. From a 24-hour DDoS attack on Israel peaking at 800 Gbps to the rise of politically motivated hacktivism, Richard outlines why the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has become a hotspot for these digital assaults—and what financial firms can do about it. The conversation also covers the emerging risk of shadow APIs—forgotten, unmanaged, or defunct APIs that can unintentionally expose sensitive personal or financial data.