New Training: Understanding REST API Security

In this 5-video skill, CBT Nuggets trainer Chuck Keith covers the fundamentals of REST APIs. Learn how to secure your REST API, and gain an understanding of REST API authentication. Watch this new Cisco training.

Watch the full course: Cisco CCNP Enterprise Core

This training includes:

• 5 videos

• 26 minutes of training

You’ll learn these topics in this skill:

• Intro to REST API Security

• What is a REST API?

• REST APIs are Hackable

• Secure Your REST API

• REST API Authentication

What is a Representational State Transfer (REST) API?

A Representational State Transfer (REST) API is one that exposes its functionality and resources through a CRUD (Create, Read, Update and Delete) interface over standard HTTP requests. REST APIs offer their resources at a specified URL, which can include JSON, HTML, images and audio files.

Each REST API defines the HTTP methods that can be acted on it. The most common method is GET, which retrieves a resource from a server much like a web browser retrieves a web page. Almost all REST APIs support the GET method. A REST API can also offer a POST method for creating a new resource on the server and a PUT method for updating a resource. Also possible is a DELETE method, which deletes a resource from a server.

While you can make REST calls directly in a web browser, the APIs are mostly used by applications, which use them to obtain resources that they require.