Objective
Allow only authorized applications to access the organization’s APIs securely, while also ensuring that users have control over their data and permissions.
Scenario
A company operates a set of web services through an API Gateway to enable third-party developers and applications to access its data and functionality. To ensure secure and controlled access, the organization decided to implement OAuth 2.0 as the authentication and authorization mechanism for their API Gateway.
Components
- miniOrange XecureAPI Gateway
- OAuth Authentication Policy
Solution
The XecureAPI Gateway features a built-in policy to implement the OAuth authentication mechanism. This enhances the security of your APIs by utilizing different scopes to determine the user information access level for various applications. This policy ensures that authorized access to protected resources is granted to client applications.
When a user first accesses a third-party application, they need to first authenticate using their login credentials. Following authentication, a consent grant is provided. The XecureAPI authorization server provides an authorization code to the application upon submission of the consent screen.Now, the client application subsequently exchanges this authorization code to obtain an access token.
The access token determines the limited scope of access to user information for that specific client application. Thus, by validating the access token, controlled access to user information is granted to the application. If the access token is not valid, the request gets denied to avoid unauthorized user access.
Also, the XecureAPI gateway logs the authentication events and API usage for auditing purposes. You can analyze your API performance and security by using the monitoring and auditing features provided by the XecureAPI gateway.
Benefits
- Security: OAuth 2.0 provides a secure and standardized framework for authentication and authorization.
- User Control: Users have control over the data and permissions granted to third-party applications.
- Scalability: API Gateway efficiently manages and secures API access for a large number of applications.
- Developer Experience: Standardized OAuth 2.0 workflows make it easier for developers to integrate and build applications.
Conclusion
By implementing OAuth 2.0 for their API Gateway, the company ensures a secure and standardized approach to enable third-party access to their APIs while prioritizing user privacy and control.