API security
API security is a critical aspect of any system design, especially in today’s world where data breaches are common. As APIs serve as the communication bridge between different software components, they are often targeted by attackers. Therefore, understanding and implementing robust API security measures is crucial. We will discuss authentication and authorization as it pertains to API security in the next sections. Figure 8.2 shows the difference between authentication and authorization. Authentication is concerned with answering the question, “Who are you?”, which is akin to logging into a website with your username and password, whereas authorization deals with checking users’ permissions to access data, thus answering the question, “Are you allowed to do that?” Let us now delve into explaining both authentication and authorization.
Figure 8.2: Authentication vs. Authorization
