Adopt a Zero Trust Approach with OAuth 2.0 Mutual TLS Client Authentication

In the modern IT stack, API gateways act as the first line of defense against attacks on backend services by enforcing authentication/authorization policies and validating and transforming requests. When backend services are protected with a token-based approach, client applications must obtain an…
Understanding Microsegmentation in Zero Trust Security

With digital transformation shifting networks into the cloud — from remote workforces to online banking — cyberattacks are growing more prevalent and sophisticated. Legacy security models like VPNs and perimeter-based firewalls are proving inadequate in addressing modern threats because perimeters…
Top GraphQL Security Vulnerabilities: Lessons Learned Analyzing 1,500+ Endpoints

With its flexible querying capabilities, GraphQL makes it easy to combine data from multiple sources into a single endpoint. GraphQL and API management go hand in hand to build next-generation API platforms. However, GraphQL's features can also introduce security risks if not properly…
What are API Keys? Overview and Use Cases

Application programming interfaces (APIs) allow software to communicate and share data. But how can those APIs confirm the identity of the clients theyre communicating with? API keys are one solution. API keys are unique codes for authenticating and authorizing access to the features, data, or…
GraphQL Authorization at the API Gateway with Kong Konnect and OPA

In this blog we are going to learn about the technical challenges behind solving GraphQL authorization and how many organizations resolve it today. Then discuss how a Kong / OPA integration can help drive security standards in this space and bring some parity with REST API solutions. Last, we will…
What is OAuth?

OAuth (short for Open Authorization) is a popular, standardized API protocol that provides a secure way for services to quickly share resources for a seamless user experience. Examples of OAuth in action include giving a greeting card service access to your photo library to make a custom holiday…
API Gateway Authentication

What is an API Gateway? In essence, it authenticates that a particular consumer has permission to access the API, using a predefined set of credentials. There are special cases — for example, the option to allow anonymous authentication — but generally speaking, the aim of API authentication is to…
Understanding Microservices Authentication Services

Authentication is the process of determining who a user is by, for example, asking them to provide a username and password or using multi-factor authentication. Once you know who the user is, you can check their account details to determine what they are authorized to access. Creating a session for…
Generating Dynamic Signatures for API Authentication With Insomnia

Earlier this year, we hosted our inaugural Kong Summit Hackathon . This virtual competition engaged our open source community and offered recognition and prizes for hacks in various categories. The community delivered with ingenious plugins, hacks and documentation. In this blog post, we highlight…
Kong and Okta Deliver Best-in-Class Identity for API Management

As organizations look to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, a couple of key trends are prevalent. First, there is a movement from monolithic to smaller cloud native microservices. Second, there is more pressure to innovate, resulting in an explosion of APIs and connections to…
Token-Based Access Control With Kong, OPA and Curity

As APIs and microservices evolve, the architecture used to secure these resources must also mature. Utilizing a token-based architecture to protect APIs is a robust, secure and scalable approach, and it is also much safer than API keys or basic authentication. However, token-based architecture…
Solving API Authorization Challenges in Multi-Cloud Environments

As more and more companies move to a multi-cloud strategy and increase usage of a cloud native infrastructure , API providers are under a lot of pressure to deliver APIs at scale in multi-cloud environments. At the same time, APIs should follow each company's security requirements and best…