API security is a crucial aspect of application security, focusing on securing API services to prevent data breaches or misuse. APIs are vulnerable to various threats, including implementation errors, lack of rate limiting, and insecure authentication methods. Implementing best practices such as using API gateways, proper authentication, encryption, and regular security testing can significantly enhance API security. Conducting regular security tests and scans, collecting API log data, establishing quotas and throttling API requests, educating the team about OWASP API security top 10, validating and sanitizing API data, and updating API services and documentation are also essential to protect APIs from malicious access and control. Leveraging tools like Snyk can help identify vulnerabilities and maintain API security.