By Zéla Traore | Presales Engineer – Francophone Africa
Voices of DGIT Thought Leadership Series
In a world where every organisation is becoming a digital business, Application Programming Interface (APIs) have become the invisible highways of modern innovation. They connect systems, enable customer experiences, and make digital ecosystems work. But as integration accelerates, so does a quieter, more complex challenge: API sprawl and shadow apps.
What began as a way to build faster and innovate freely has become one of cybersecurity’s biggest blind spots. In many African enterprises, teams are moving at full speed to deploy cloud, mobile, and SaaS applications – yet often without realising how much risk they’re introducing along the way.
What Are API Sprawl and Shadow Apps?
API sprawl happens when organisations build and deploy APIs faster than they can track or secure them. Different teams may develop APIs independently, leaving behind outdated versions or duplicate connections. Over time, the result is a fragmented ecosystem that’s difficult to monitor.
Shadow apps, meanwhile, are applications or integrations used by employees without the knowledge or approval of IT or security teams. From file-sharing platforms to unapproved SaaS tools, these “helpful shortcuts” often bypass company policies — and in doing so, open unguarded doors to sensitive data.
Why It’s Becoming a Serious Risk
The numbers are alarming. According to Gartner (2024), by 2026 more than 75% of data breaches will stem from insecure APIs, while Imperva reports 71% of web traffic is API related and 27% of API attacks mitigated targeted API Business Logic. . Attackers love APIs because they’re predictable, accessible, and often forgotten once deployed.
An example that still resonates in security circles is the Optus data breach (Australia, 2022) – triggered by an exposed API that required no authentication. The result: over 10m customer records leaked, including passport and driver’s license details. It cost the company millions in remediation, fines, and lost customer trust.
Now imagine a similar scenario playing out in an African financial institution or telecom operator – where regulatory scrutiny is tightening, and customer trust is hard-earned. With Africa’s API-driven digital economy projected to exceed $200 billion by 2030 (IFC 2025), this is not a hypothetical risk. It’s a live one.
How to Regain Control
Mitigating API sprawl and shadow app risk starts with visibility and governance. You can’t protect what you don’t know exists. Practical steps include:
- Centralized API Inventory: Maintain a live catalogue of all APIs, including owners, functions, and data flows.
- Discovery & Monitoring: Deploy automated API discovery tools that continuously scan for rogue endpoints and traffic anomalies.
- Strong Identity Controls: Apply consistent authentication, least privilege, and token management – across both users and machines.
- Shift-Left Security: Integrate API testing, code reviews, and vulnerability scanning early in the development cycle.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Empower developers and business units with clear policies rather than strict gatekeeping. Innovation should stay agile, but not blind.
- Specialized Protection: Engage proven API and application security vendors – such as Imperva, Check Point, and Thales – that provide runtime protection, anomaly detection, and advanced API visibility.
From Blind Spot to Business Advantage
API sprawl and shadow apps are not just technical problems; they’re strategic risks that touch every part of the business – from compliance to customer trust. But they also present an opportunity: the chance to turn hidden exposure into visible control.
When organizations invest in API governance, they not only reduce risk – they unlock agility with confidence. Security becomes an enabler of speed, not a barrier to it.
For enterprises across Africa, that’s the ultimate goal: to innovate boldly, without leaving the back door open.
At DataGroupIT, we help organisations secure their applications and APIs through our Application and Cloud Security frameworks – empowering teams to build faster, safer, and smarter.