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Amirsaeed Sadeghi
Amirsaeed Sadeghi

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Your API Security Assumptions Are Outdated: AI Isn’t Just a User — It’s an Attacker

AI isn’t just a user — it can be an attacker.

Most teams still think securing an API means:

  • Using JWT
  • Enforcing HTTPS
  • Applying Rate Limiting

That used to be enough.


But today’s reality is different:

AI is reading and analyzing your responses.

Unlike human users, AI can:

  • Process millions of API responses
  • Extract patterns from error messages
  • Reverse-engineer your system faster than any human hacker

Real-World Vulnerabilities

Here’s how your API might already be leaking knowledge:

  • Raw stack traces → Reveal your framework and version → AI maps it to known CVEs in seconds.

  • Exposed SQL queries → Reveal your schema and business logic → Free blueprint for attackers.

  • Detailed validation errors → Help AI learn your internal rules and edge cases.


📉 The Result?

You’re handing over your system’s architecture to an intelligent attacker — for free.


🛡 Practical Steps to Protect Your API

  • Obfuscation

    Return generic error codes/messages — not full details.

  • Response Layer

    Sanitize and filter every outgoing response.

  • AI-aware Security

    Assume your API is consumed by a learning model, not just a user.


💡 My Take

Once we shifted our mindset from "protecting data" to "protecting knowledge",

many risks simply disappeared.


Your Turn

Do you think AI is becoming:

  • a helper for security?
  • or the next big threat?

Let’s discuss in the comments 👇


👉 Follow me for more insights on Software Architecture + Security in the AI Era

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