APIs and Security

Abstract

Over the summer of 2017 I worked at VisTracks as a server side developer. This company develops software for truckers that helps monitor their driving in order to ensure compliance with federal regulations that apply to trucking. VisTracks is a fairly small company with about 20 total employees and only 8 employees working out of the Chicago office. During my time there I worked on development of new server side features, database changes, and API troubleshooting. Throughout my internship I also experienced many of the differences between development in a professional environment as opposed to an academic one. One of the largest differences was the emphasis on security, a topic which is rarely considered in an academic setting. However, for a company providing software as a service to other companies a security breach can mean a huge loss of money and customers. Therefore it is important when developing in a professional context to know both the types of attacks your system can be vulnerable to and how to prevent them.