Cheapest Continuous API monitor

What middleBrick covers

  • Risk scoring from A to F with prioritized findings
  • Read-only scanning using GET, HEAD, and text-only POST
  • OpenAPI 3.0/3.1 and Swagger 2.0 parsing with $ref resolution
  • Detection aligned to PCI-DSS 4.0, SOC 2 Type II, OWASP API Top 10
  • Authenticated scanning with header allowlisting
  • Scheduled rescans and diff-based alerting

Purpose and scope of continuous monitoring

Continuous API monitoring keeps security posture visible between formal assessments. middleBrick provides a read-only scanner that checks on API behavior without making changes. The tool focuses on detection and reporting, mapping findings to PCI-DSS 4.0, SOC 2 Type II, and OWASP API Top 10 (2023).

How continuous monitoring works

Submit a URL and receive a risk score from A to F with prioritized findings. Scans are read-only, using GET and HEAD methods plus text-only POST for LLM probes, completing in under a minute. OpenAPI specifications in versions 3.0 and 3.1, as well as Swagger 2.0, are parsed with recursive $ref resolution, and findings are cross-referenced against the spec to highlight undefined security schemes or missing pagination.

Detection coverage and authentication options

The scanner covers 12 categories aligned to OWASP API Top 10, including authentication bypass, JWT misconfigurations, BOLA and IDOR, BFLA and privilege escalation, input validation, rate limiting, data exposure, encryption issues, SSRF, inventory management, unsafe consumption, and LLM/AI security probes. Authenticated scanning supports Bearer, API key, Basic auth, and cookies, with a domain verification gate to ensure only domain owners can enable credentials. Only selected headers are forwarded to limit noise.

Integration and alerting

Results are available in a web dashboard with trend tracking and branded compliance PDF downloads. The CLI supports on-demand scans, while the GitHub Action can gate CI/CD when scores fall below a set threshold. Pro tier adds scheduled rescans every 6 hours, daily, weekly, or monthly, with diff detection to surface new findings, resolved issues, and score drift. Email alerts are rate-limited to 1 per hour per API, and webhooks use HMAC-SHA256 signing with auto-disable after 5 consecutive failures.

Limitations and responsible use

Continuous monitoring does not fix, patch, block, or remediate issues. It does not perform active SQL injection or command injection testing, detect business logic flaws, or provide blind SSRF coverage. The tool does not replace human pentesters for high-stakes audits. Findings are intended to support audit evidence and help prepare for security reviews, rather than guarantee compliance with any specific regulation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the free tier include continuous monitoring?
No. The free tier allows 3 scans per month via CLI, with dashboard and monitoring features available only in paid tiers.
How are scan credentials handled?
Credentials are accepted only after domain verification via DNS TXT record or an HTTP well-known file, ensuring only the domain owner can submit authenticated scans.
What happens to scan data after cancellation?
Customer scan data is deletable on demand and purged within 30 days of cancellation. Data is never sold or used for model training.
Can the scanner test destructive endpoints?
No. The scanner uses read-only methods only and never sends destructive payloads.