FireTail's 2025 Report Reveals API Security as the Weak Link in Enterprise AI Strategies

MCLEAN, Va. - April 25, 2025 - PRLog -- FireTail,  AI security platform, has released its State of AI & API Security 2025, revealing a blind spot in the way organizations are securing their AI. Despite record-breaking AI adoption, enterprises are overlooking the most exposed part of the AI stack: the API layer.

"APIs are the foundation of AI applications, and attackers know it," said Jeremy Snyder, FireTail CEO. "If you don't secure your APIs, you're not securing your AI. It's that simple."

The report is based on research from FireTail's API Breach Tracker, AI Incident Tracker, telemetry from production environments, and detailed reviews of AI-related security incidents.

Key Insights from the Report

In 2024, FireTail tracked 26 major API security incidents, an increase from 22 the previous year. It showed that attackers continue to exploit long-standing vulnerabilities such as authorization flaws, weak authentication, and insufficient input validation. Since 2017, more than 1.6 billion records have been exposed via API incidents.

The report  examines high-profile cases including the Irish Government's vaccination portal, OpenAI's web crawler, and Meta's LLaMA framework.

"We're already seeing the first wave of large-scale AI breaches," Snyder said. "It's clear that organizations are rushing to adopt AI without proper security oversight."

A Growing Attack Surface and A Lack of Visibility

97% of organizations believe AI introduces unique security challenges, yet nearly 60% say they lack visibility into the APIs powering their AI systems. This gap is creating opportunities for attackers to exploit shadow APIs, bypass controls, and launch attacks.

The report also highlights the regulatory shift taking place. The FCC's $16 million enforcement against TracFone over API vulnerabilities shows that regulators now view API security failures as compliance violations in addition to technical and security oversights.

Frameworks like the CIS API Security Guide, OWASP LLM Top 10, and ISO 42001 are beginning to provide structure. However, these must be paired with proactive discovery, posture management, and runtime protection to be truly effective.

A Call for API-First Security

The report calls for an API-centric approach to securing AI. Recommendations include comprehensive API discovery, strong authentication and authorization, secure-by-design development, and continuous monitoring.

"AI doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's connected to everything, and that connection point is the API," said Snyder. "If organizations want to innovate safely with AI, they need to start by securing the APIs that power it."

Access the Report

The State of AI & API Security 2025 is available for download at:
firetail.ai/reports/the-state-of-ai-and-api-security-2025

For media inquiries or interview requests, contact:
media@firetail.io

Full Report: https://resources.firetail.io/hubfs/State%20of%20AI%20&%20API%20Security%202025%20-%20Final.pdf