Retailing APIs carry inventory, pricing, and personal data. A compromised channel can leak fares early, issue fraudulent tickets, or expose traveler details. Security is therefore foundational, not optional. Focus on signing offers, hardening APIs, and building trust with partners.
Sign and validate offers
Digitally sign offers so a seller cannot tamper with price or rules. Include timestamps, issuer identity, and a hash of key fields (itinerary, price breakdown, validity). On commit, verify the signature before accepting payment. Rotate keys regularly and publish revocation mechanisms.
- Use JSON Web Signatures (JWS) or equivalent with strong algorithms (RS256/ES256).
- Separate signing keys per partner or channel to limit blast radius.
- Log signature validation results for audit trails.
Protect APIs with layered controls
- Authentication: Mutual TLS or signed tokens tied to client identities.
- Authorization: Scope tokens to specific operations (search, order, servicing) and markets.
- Rate limiting: Apply per-client quotas and burst controls, with real-time dashboards.
- Threat detection: Monitor for credential stuffing, abnormal patterns, and anomaly spikes.
Data protection and privacy
Encrypt sensitive data at rest, mask PII in logs, and enforce retention policies. Build incident response runbooks with clear contacts and notification steps. Regularly run penetration tests and share summarized findings with partners to build trust.
Operational trust
Security is ongoing. Provide partners with uptime status, change notices, and security bulletins. Train internal teams on secure coding and review flows for third-party libraries. Document compliance posture (PCI, ISO 27001, SOC 2) and keep attestations current.
By signing offers and hardening APIs, you signal that retailing innovation can move fast without sacrificing safety. Travelers and partners alike notice when security is handled with care.