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CASE STUDY
API Security Hardening for an Open Banking Platform
Performed a deep-dive API security review of an open banking platform processing £2B in monthly transactions, identifying and remediating 23 high-severity flaws before public launch.
THE BRIEF
An Open Banking Platform Needed Pre-Launch API Security Validation
An open banking platform preparing to launch publicly was processing £2B in monthly transactions across its private beta. Before opening APIs to third-party providers, regulators and investors required a thorough independent security assessment.
- Public launch blocked pending independent security sign-off
- APIs exposed to 40+ third-party fintech integrators with varying trust levels
- Regulatory requirement for OWASP API Top 10 compliance before go-live
- Previous internal review had identified only 3 low-severity issues
Our mandate was to perform a deep, adversarial API security assessment and work alongside the engineering team to remediate every finding before launch.
Services Used:
TESTIMONIAL
“Encyphers found 23 high-severity vulnerabilities that our own team had missed entirely. Their depth of knowledge on API security is unmatched. They worked alongside our engineers until every finding was fixed — true partners, not just testers.”
Alex Thornton
CTO, Open Banking Platform
SNAPSHOTS
API Assessment Findings & Remediations
THE CHALLENGE
The API Vulnerabilities They Carried
The internal team believed APIs were secure — the reality was very different:
- Broken object-level authorisation allowed cross-account data access
- Excessive data exposure returning full account objects in API responses
- Missing rate limiting enabling credential stuffing at scale
- Insecure direct object references exploitable without authentication
A single exploited vulnerability in a platform processing £2B monthly could have resulted in catastrophic financial and reputational damage.
THE SOLUTION
The Security Review We Delivered
We performed a comprehensive OWASP API Top 10 assessment with full exploitation:
- Manual and automated testing of all 180 API endpoints across 4 versions
- Demonstrated end-to-end exploitation chains for all critical findings
- Embedded with the engineering team for 3-week remediation sprint
- Conducted verification testing on all fixes before issuing security sign-off
The platform launched on schedule, with full regulatory sign-off and zero critical API vulnerabilities remaining.
THE RESULTS
Real Outcomes That Enabled a Safe Launch
Security confidence delivered before going live
23 High-Severity Flaws Fixed
All 23 high-severity vulnerabilities were identified, exploited to demonstrate impact, and fully remediated before public launch.
Regulatory Sign-Off Achieved
Independent security sign-off was provided to regulators, unblocking the public launch and third-party API access.
Zero Critical Issues at Launch
Full verification testing confirmed zero critical or high-severity issues remained at the point of public launch.
Rate Limiting Implemented
API rate limiting and abuse prevention controls were designed and implemented across all 180 endpoints.
OWASP API Top 10 Compliant
The platform achieved full compliance with the OWASP API Top 10, satisfying both regulatory and investor requirements.
Launched on Schedule
Despite the volume of findings, the 3-week embedded remediation sprint enabled the platform to launch on the original date.
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Contact us
Let's Start Building Your Digital Product
Have questions or are ready to build AI-powered web, ecommerce, or digital solutions? Encyphers helps startups & enterprises create scalable digital products. We respond within 24 hours.
“Encyphers delivered a complete digital transformation for our retail business, combining AI-powered systems, cloud infrastructure, and ecommerce solutions into one fully scalable and high-performance ecosystem. Their strategic approach significantly improved efficiency, customer experience, and overall business growth.”
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