Akamai Research: Web Attacks Up 33%, APIs Emerge as Primary Targets
Akamai Technologies News, Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025
Akamai Technologies, Inc. released a new State of the Internet (SOTI) report that finds there were 311 billion web attacks in 2024, representing a 33% year-over-year increase
State of Apps and API Security 2025: How AI Is Shifting the Digital Terrain notes the surge in these attacks correlates to the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) applications, which expand attack surfaces and introduce new security challenges.
The report also finds that APIs have emerged as primary targets, with Akamai documenting 150 billion API attacks from January 2023 through December 2024. The AI API market is growing rapidly and the integration of AI-driven tools with core platforms via APIs has substantially expanded this attack surface. The majority of AI-powered APIs are externally accessible and many rely on inadequate authentication mechanisms, a vulnerability compounded by the growing array of AI-driven attacks targeting them. Akamai notes that AI-powered APIs are even more vulnerable than their counterparts as AI fuels technical advancements for threat actors.