Navigating Challenges in Software Development: A Surprising Encounter with API Standards
In the ever-evolving world of software development, there are always moments that take us by surprise. Recently, I encountered an experience that left me questioning the intersection of expertise and modern practices.
Our team has been diligently working on a suite of HTTPS RESTful APIs designed for IoT devices, utilizing client-side X.509 certificates for authentication and short-lived JWT bearer tokens for access control. Everything was proceeding smoothly until a new advisor joined our project—someone who proudly labeled himself a “software engineering expert.” His demeanor, however, left much to be desired.
Shortly after his arrival, he reviewed our specifications and presented an astonishing demand: “Your APIs should not return HTTP status codes.”
Perplexed, my team and I engaged him in a dialogue to understand his rationale.
We asked, “Why?”
His response was bewildering. “Because you should not reveal any information to hackers.“
We found ourselves incredulous. How could one of the fundamental aspects of RESTful APIs—the HTTP status codes—be overlooked?
We pressed on, “But status codes are integral to any RESTful interface. Without them, the APIs simply won’t function properly.”
The advisor countered with, “Maybe you need them for legitimate users, but if hackers gain access to your server, they can use those status codes to glean insights.“
At this point, it became clear that he had a fundamental misunderstanding of how HTTP operates. I tried to educate him, explaining our secure authentication protocols and how a “forbidden” status code would not grant a hacker any meaningful advantage.
His reply, however, was rather deflating: “He can keep guessing the password until you let him in.“
Stunned into silence, we could only exchange glances as he walked away, leaving us to contemplate just how we would address this incongruity.
As luck would have it, this encounter unfolded right before his scheduled return to report his findings to our boss the following Monday. It raised a significant concern—how could we effectively convey the shortcomings in his understanding to our superior without coming off as dismissive or disrespectful?
Fortunately, after discussing the advisor’s unusual demand with our boss, his reaction was one of disbelief, reflecting a familiarity with technology that we hadn’t anticipated. As it turned out, this advisor was not hired as a consultant but rather was a retired relative of our
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In RESTful API design, HTTP status codes play a crucial role in conveying the outcome of a request to clients. Completely omitting or avoiding response status codes can lead to significant challenges, such as making error handling and debugging much more difficult for legitimate users and API consumers. While it’s important to ensure that error responses do not inadvertently leak sensitive information, best practices involve using appropriate status codes alongside secure authentication and authorization measures.
If the goal is to prevent inference by potential attackers, consider implementing security best practices such as rate limiting, detailed logging, and minimal error messages that do not disclose sensitive system information. Remember, HTTP status codes, when used correctly, help clients interpret responses efficiently and reliably, which is vital for the robustness of your API ecosystem.
In your situation, maintaining the use of standard HTTP status codes (e.g., 200 OK, 401 Unauthorized, 403 Forbidden, 404 Not Found, 500 Internal Server Error) is highly recommended. Focus on securing your API through authentication, authorization, and network security rather than eliminating fundamental communication protocols like HTTP status codes.
If you want to obscure certain details, you can customize your error responses but still include the appropriate status code to adhere to REST standards. Let me know if you’d like guidance on implementing secure, standards-compliant error handling strategies!