API Authentication and Authorization Best Practices | Synopsys Blog (2024)

FAQs

What is the best practice for API authentication? ›

Authentication is about verifying identity (“Who are you?”), while authorization is about granting permissions (“What are you allowed to do?”). Both are essential for secure API interactions but serve different roles in the security process.

Use JSON web tokens. JSON web tokens (JWTs) are often used to implement key-based client authentication. The client generates a JWT and signs it with a private key. The API then validates the JWT with the client's public key and uses the embedded claims to make an authorization decision.

OAuth 2.0 (Open Authorization 2.0) is a widely adopted and standardized protocol for authentication and authorization in RESTful APIs. It allows users to grant limited access to resources on one site (the resource server) to another site or application (the client) without exposing their credentials.

HTTP Basic Authentication is by far the simplest approach to authentication. This method sends a username and password alongside every API call with an HTTP header for transmission. No session IDs, login pages, or cookies are required, making it a very straightforward and accessible solution for anyone.

Like bearer tokens and OAuth, API keys can both authenticate and authorize API access.

API keys are for projects, authentication is for users

The main distinction between these two is: API keys identify the calling project — the application or site — making the call to an API. Authentication tokens identify a user — the person — that is using the app or site.

There are many types of API authentication, such as HTTP basic authentication, API key authentication, JWT, and OAuth, and each one has its own benefits, trade-offs, and ideal use cases.

To set up authentication for your public APIs, go to the API authorization dashboard. Select Team > Team Settings in the Postman header, then select Set up API authorization in the left sidebar. Postman supports Bearer Token, Basic Auth, API Key, and OAuth 2.0 authorization.

How to ensure authentication and authorization in different microservices? ›