Cloudflare, one of the leading content delivery networks, has announced API Discovery and API Abuse Detection.

Application programming interfaces (APIs) are used by companies in every industry. APIs provide a way for different programs and platforms to communicate with each other or hardware components. Many companies use hundreds, or even thousands, of APIs. Unfortunately, despite their value, APIs can be easily abused.

Cloudflare is looking to address that issue with two tools: API Discovery and API Abuse Detection.

API Discovery is designed to help companies keep track of the APIs they have. In some cases, companies have so many that they lose track of them, or easily confuse similar ones.

API Abuse Detection uses a two-prong approach to detecting abuse: volume and sequence. Based on the estimated volume a company should realistically expect on a given API, Cloudflare can detect when volume is higher than it should be.

Similarly, an API has a valid sequence of events when it’s used properly. Cloudflare can monitor an API for calls that are out of sequence, a likely indication it’s being abused.

The new tools are currently available in early access.