Alternatives to Akto for CISOs

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What middleBrick covers

  • Black-box scanning with no agents or SDK dependencies
  • Risk scoring and prioritized findings (A–F)
  • Read-only methods only, no destructive payloads
  • OpenAPI 3.x and Swagger 2.0 spec analysis
  • Authenticated scanning with header allowlist
  • Continuous monitoring and diff detection across scans

Risk visibility and prioritization

middleBrick is a self-service API security scanner that returns a risk score from A to F and a prioritized list of findings. The scanner performs a black-box assessment using only read-only methods, including GET and HEAD requests and text-only POST probes for LLM endpoints. Scan completion typically occurs in under a minute, providing rapid feedback without requiring agents, SDKs, or access to source code.

Detection coverage aligned to industry standards

The platform maps findings to OWASP API Top 10 (2023), PCI-DSS 4.0, and SOC 2 Type II controls. Detection spans 12 categories, including authentication bypass, JWT misconfigurations such as alg=none or expired tokens, BOLA and IDOR via sequential ID probing, BFLA and privilege escalation attempts, over-exposed properties, input validation issues like dangerous HTTP methods and CORS misconfigurations, and data exposure including PII patterns and API key formats. Additional coverage includes SSRF indicators, inventory management gaps, unsafe consumption surfaces, and LLM security probes across tiered scan depths.

OpenAPI specification analysis

middleBrick parses OpenAPI 3.0, 3.1, and Swagger 2.0 documents with recursive $ref resolution. It cross-references spec definitions against runtime behavior to identify undefined security schemes, sensitive fields, deprecated operations, and missing pagination. This analysis highlights discrepancies between declared design and observed behavior, helping teams understand unintended exposure points.

Authenticated scanning and safe operation

Authenticated scanning is available from the Starter tier onward, supporting Bearer tokens, API keys, Basic auth, and cookies. Domain verification is enforced through DNS TXT records or an HTTP well-known file to ensure only domain owners can submit credentials. The scanner forwards a restricted allowlist of headers and never sends destructive payloads. Private IPs, localhost, and cloud metadata endpoints are blocked at multiple layers, and customer data can be deleted on demand within 30 days of cancellation.

Product integrations and deployment options

The Web Dashboard centralizes scan management, report viewing, score trend tracking, and branded compliance PDF downloads. The CLI, distributed as an npm package, supports commands such as middlebrick scan <url> with JSON or text output. A GitHub Action enforces CI/CD gates by failing builds when scores drop below a defined threshold. An MCP Server enables scanning from AI coding assistants, and a programmatic API supports custom integrations.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does the scanner actively exploit vulnerabilities?
No. The scanner uses read-only methods and never executes intrusive payloads such as SQL injection or command injection.
Can it detect business logic flaws?
No. Business logic vulnerabilities require domain context and are outside the scope of automated scanning.
How are continuous monitoring alerts delivered?
Continuous monitoring supports scheduled rescans and sends email alerts at most once per hour. Webhooks are HMAC-SHA256 signed and auto-disabled after five consecutive failures.
What happens to scan data after cancellation?
Customer data is deletable on demand and purged within 30 days of cancellation. Data is never sold or used for model training.

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