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New Akamai Study Reveals API Security Incidents Cost APAC Enterprises Over US$580,000 on Average in the Past Year

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12 months ago

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Internal disconnects, poor visibility, and misaligned priorities leave organizations vulnerable to costly API security incidents

SINGAPORE, May 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business online, today released the latest 2025 API Security Impact Study, an in-depth Asia-Pacific study exploring the hidden vulnerabilities, financial impacts, and operational challenges caused by application programming interface (API) security incidents in the region’s largest economies. Based on the study, despite a growing awareness of API vulnerabilities, the commitment to API security from senior leadership and security teams across the region has not kept pace, resulting in costly API attacks that underscore the urgent need to reach a consensus on where API security fits into their cybersecurity priorities.

The study, which surveyed more than 800 IT and security professionals across China, India, Japan, and Australia, paints a stark picture of the escalating risks enterprises face from insecure APIs. With APIs now the backbone of modern digital infrastructure, 85% of organizations in the region reported at least one API-related security incident in the past 12 months. The financial impact is equally concerning, with the average estimated cost of API security incidents reaching more than US$580,000 across the surveyed markets. However, many enterprises still lack visibility into their API ecosystems and the sensitive data they expose.

“APIs have become mission-critical, powering everything from mobile banking to connected vehicles. But our research shows that organizations across Asia-Pacific are struggling to secure them,” said Reuben Koh, Director of Security Technology & Strategy, Akamai Technologies, Asia-Pacific & Japan. “It is crucial for organizations to reach a consensus on the root cause, impact, and priority levels of API security incidents so that they can implement holistic security strategies to protect critical APIs from development to runtime.”

Key findings for Asia-Pacific:

China leads in API security prioritization, but gaps remain: Chinese respondents were the only group to rank “securing APIs from threat actors” as their top cybersecurity priority. However, cost perceptions varied widely, with C-suite executives estimating API incident costs at CN¥3.75 million (US$517,000) and front-line security staff estimating it closer to CN¥6.7 million (US$925,000).India reveals sharp internal disconnects: While 77% of Indian C-suite leaders claimed to have full API inventories, only 41% of AppSec professionals agreed. This disconnect extends to sensitive data awareness, with just 11% of AppSec teams confident that they know which APIs return sensitive data.Japan deprioritizes API risks despite industry exposure: API security ranked just fourth on the country’s cybersecurity priority list, even as 96% of organizations in energy and retail industries reported recent API incidents. Japanese AppSec teams cited reputational damage with boards and executives as the top consequence.Australia hit hardest by incidents, but slowest to respond: Australia saw the highest incident rate (95%) and incurred significant financial impacts (AU$493,000 on average) yet had the lowest percentage of organizations regularly conducting comprehensive API vulnerability testing (6%).

A disconnect between risk and response
Across all four countries, the study reveals a critical gap between perception and reality:

C-suite awareness is high, but operational visibility is low: 92% of APAC executives said their organizations experienced an API incident in the past 12 months, but only 37% of all respondents could confirm that they know which APIs expose sensitive data.Testing remains inconsistent: Despite high incident rates, only a small percentage of respondents across the region reported real-time API testing, with China at 22%, India at 15%, Japan at 11%, and Australia at 6%.

These disconnects reflect a broader challenge: Organizations are deploying APIs faster than they can secure them, creating fertile ground for attackers. “The problem is no longer theoretical. API abuse is happening right now, with real financial and reputational costs,” added Koh. “Leadership teams must close the gap with security and AppSec professionals working closer together and invest in the right tools, processes, and alignment to protect this critical technology.

Compliance wake-up call
The study also found that while the majority of organizations factor API security into their compliance programs, few are doing so holistically. Only 41% incorporate APIs into risk assessments, and just 40% factor APIs into reporting requirements. Japan also lagged behind other countries in the region in recognizing API-related compliance requirements, with 22% stating that they do not factor API security into their compliance efforts.

From China’s Data Security Law to Australia’s Consumer Data Right regulation, the need to account for API risks in compliance and security frameworks is growing rapidly. As APIs become the connective tissue of digital business, securing them requires a deliberate, end-to-end approach. The study offers recommendations that organizations across Asia-Pacific should prioritize to build lasting resilience, including undertaking a full inventory of APIs, regular testing to ensure APIs are coded correctly, implementing runtime detection to differentiate between “normal” and “abnormal” API activity, and more.

To access the in-depth research, download the full study.

About Akamai

Akamai is the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business online. Our market-leading security solutions, superior threat intelligence, and global operations team provide defense in depth to safeguard enterprise data and applications everywhere. Akamai’s full-stack cloud computing solutions deliver performance and affordability on the world’s most distributed platform. Global enterprises trust Akamai to provide the industry-leading reliability, scale, and expertise they need to grow their business with confidence. Learn more at akamai.com and akamai.com/blog, or follow Akamai Technologies on X and LinkedIn.

Contact

Akamai PR
Akamai-APJHub@edelman.com 

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Media Advisory – Minister Hodgson to deliver keynote speech on One Year of Nation Building

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April 22, 2026

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TORONTO, April 22, 2026 /CNW/ – The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, will speak at the Empire Club of Canada regarding this past year’s accomplishments and future strategic directions.

Date: April 24, 2026

Time: 11:30 a.m. ET

All accredited media are asked to register using the Empire Club’s press accreditation and registration form. Details on how to participate will be provided upon registration.

Follow Natural Resources Canada on LinkedIn.

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Harness Delivers Unified AI Intelligence Across Software Delivery with Google Cloud

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April 22, 2026

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Harness integrates Google Cloud’s Developer Connect into its Software Delivery Knowledge Graph to give engineering teams smarter, faster AI-driven insights

SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Harness, the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, today announced that it will bring together Harness’s Software Delivery Knowledge Graph and Google Cloud’s Developer Connect. The initiative gives joint customers a unified, AI-ready view of their entire software delivery lifecycle, and the intelligence to act on it with confidence.

The announcement was made at Google Cloud Next, where Harness also won the 2026 Google Cloud Technology Partner of the Year Award in the Application Development – DevOps category.

The Missing Piece in AI Software Delivery

Modern software delivery environments are inherently complex. Pipelines, services, build and deploy infrastructure, artifacts, and dependencies are deeply interconnected — and the data that describes how they relate to one another is scattered across dozens of tools. As organizations accelerate their adoption of AI-powered engineering, that fragmentation becomes a critical liability. AI is only as effective as the context it can access, and today, most AI agents are operating with an incomplete picture.

Harness is addressing this challenge head-on. By integrating Google Cloud Developer Connect insights into the Harness Software Delivery Knowledge Graph, joint customers gain a continuously updated, relationship-aware model of their software delivery environment that spans both platforms, bridging the visibility gap between development and production so that AI agents can operate with complete and reliable context. For engineering teams, this translates directly to making decisions grounded in situational awareness rather than generic training data, allowing them to execute complex workflows with greater accuracy.

Where the Partnership Comes to Life

For joint customers of Harness and Google Cloud, this integration means Harness AI can now make smarter, faster decisions on their behalf. By bringing together deployment event logs, runtime data, and application dependency information from Google Cloud into the Harness Software Delivery Knowledge Graph, teams gain a continuously updated, comprehensive view of their software delivery environment. When an issue arises, engineers can diagnose and remediate faster, trace problems back to specific source files or infrastructure, and link artifacts to the teams responsible for them, without having to manually piece together context from multiple systems.

The result is AI that works harder for customers. With richer context available upfront, AI agents can operate more efficiently, delivering answers and recommendations that reflect the true state of the environment. Everything teams need is in one place, and their AI has everything it needs to act on it confidently.

Security is central to how this integration was built. Data shared between Harness and Google Cloud is governed by enterprise-grade access controls, ensuring the right information reaches the right people within the guardrails organizations require.

“AI is only as powerful as the context behind it. Without it, teams fall into the AI Velocity Paradox: moving code faster than ever, but risking shipping software that is unverified, insecure, and unreliable,” said Jyoti Bansal, co-founder and CEO of Harness. “This is exactly what our expanded work with Google Cloud directly addresses, giving joint customers a unified view of their software delivery environment and AI that can actually reason across it. When context is complete, speed and confidence go hand in hand.”

A Collaboration That Keeps Deepening

This integration is the latest evolution of a long-standing collaboration between Harness and Google Cloud. Harness AI runs on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, and joint customers already benefit from expanded access through Google Cloud Marketplace. With this announcement, that work expands from the infrastructure layer into the application layer — and directly into how AI understands and acts on the software delivery environment. And it doesn’t stop there. The Harness MCP Server is now accessible within Google’s Gemini Enterprise app environment, enabling Gemini Enterprise customers to leverage Harness capabilities directly from their existing AI interface.

“Google Cloud provides cutting-edge technology that helps partners innovate and deliver more impactful solutions for business transformation,” said Ritika Suri, Managing Director, AI and Data Partnerships at Google Cloud. “Through our partnership with Harness, we will provide customers with innovative capabilities that can improve operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation.”

Join Us

As our Knowledge Graph ecosystem continues to grow, Harness remains committed to expanding the breadth of integrations available to customers with the goal of being the most comprehensive AI-ready software delivery platform on the market.

To connect with the Harness team in person, visit the Harness booth at Google Cloud Next.

About Harness
Harness is the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, enabling engineering teams to build, test, and deliver software faster and more securely. Powered by Harness AI and the Software Delivery Knowledge Graph, the platform brings intelligent automation to every stage of the software delivery lifecycle after code — removing toil and freeing developers from manual, repetitive work. Companies like United Airlines, Morningstar, and Choice Hotels use Harness to deploy up to 70% faster, reduce change failure rates by 50%, cut deployment effort by 80%, and lower security noise by 65%. Based in San Francisco, Harness is backed by Menlo Ventures, IVP, Unusual Ventures, and Citi Ventures.

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H.I.G. Capital Announces the Sale of Celerion

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April 22, 2026

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MIAMI, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global alternative investment firm with $74 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce that one of its affiliates has signed a definitive agreement to sell its portfolio company, Celerion Holdings, Inc. (“Celerion” or the “Company”), a global CRO and leader in clinical pharmacology and bioanalytical sciences, to funds affiliated with THL Partners (“THL”).

Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, Celerion is a leading provider of highly specialized clinical pharmacology and bioanalytical sciences with deep expertise in first-in-human dose escalation, cardiac safety (TQT), drug-drug interaction, and other complex clinical pharmacology studies that support regulatory approval and drug labeling. Celerion offers an integrated suite of services spanning data management, biostatistics, and clinical monitoring that supports a global base of pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers through its purpose-built clinical and laboratory infrastructure with facilities in Lincoln, Phoenix, Zurich, and Belfast.

H.I.G. acquired Celerion in November 2022 and worked closely with management to accelerate growth and strengthen the Company’s market position. During its ownership, H.I.G. supported strategic investments across commercial, operational, and technology initiatives, including the expansion of Celerion’s clinical and bioanalytical laboratory footprint. These efforts drove exceptional growth and solidified Celerion’s standing as a leading, clinical pharmacology-focused, contract research organization.

Susan Thornton, Celerion’s President & CEO, commented, “H.I.G. has been an exceptional partner to Celerion, helping us accelerate key strategic initiatives and invest meaningfully in our people, capabilities, and infrastructure. These efforts have strengthened our platform and enhanced the quality and consistency of outcomes we deliver to customers. We are excited to carry this momentum forward with THL as we enter our next phase of growth.”

Mike Gallagher, Managing Director at H.I.G., commented, “We are proud of what Celerion’s best-in-class team has accomplished during our partnership. The team has delivered industry- leading growth during our ownership, and we are confident it is uniquely positioned for its next chapter.”

Michael Kuritzky, Managing Director at H.I.G., added, “We are very proud of the work Celerion does to help drug sponsors worldwide navigate the complexities of clinical trial management. It has been a privilege to partner with Susan and her team, and we look forward to Celerion’s continued success.”

BofA Securities, Inc. and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC were financial advisors to H.I.G. and Celerion. McDermott Will & Schulte LLP was legal counsel for H.I.G. and Celerion in connection with the transaction.

About Celerion

Celerion is a clinical research organization that provides comprehensive clinical trial solutions to pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients conducting early clinical research throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company serves its clients through a global network of facilities and provides first-in-human to proof-of-concept studies as well as bioanalytical laboratory services, data management and biometrics, and drug development services. For more information, visit celerion.com.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. Capital is a leading global alternative investment firm with $74 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Stamford in the United States, as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Dubai, and Hong Kong, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to middle market companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:

H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche, and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at hig.com.

*Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates.

Contact:

Mike Gallagher
Managing Director
mgallagher@hig.com

Michael Kuritzky
Managing Director
mkuritzky@hig.com

Alex Zisson
Managing Director
azisson@hig.com

H.I.G. Capital
1450 Brickell Avenue
31st Floor
Miami, FL 33131
P: 305.379.2322
hig.com

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