Overview
Standard operating procedures for implementing secure JWT authentication, RBAC, and rate limiting across API gateways.
Article Content
# Zero-Trust API Security & Authentication Lifecycle
Ensuring enterprise security across external and internal APIs through automated token validation, rate-limiting, and least-privilege role assignment.
## 1. Authentication Handshake Flow
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
autonumber
actor User as Client Application
participant Gateway as API Gateway
participant Auth as Auth Service
participant API as Core Resource API
User->>Gateway: POST /api/auth/login (Credentials)
Gateway->>Auth: Validate Credentials
Auth-->>Gateway: Issue Short-Lived JWT + Refresh Token
Gateway-->>User: Return HTTP 200 with JWT
User->>Gateway: GET /api/data (Header: Bearer JWT)
Gateway->>Gateway: Verify Signature & Expiration
Gateway->>API: Forward Authorized Request
API-->>User: 200 OK (Protected Data)
```
## 2. Security Checklist
- Short-lived JWTs (15 minutes) with rotating refresh tokens stored in secure HTTP-only cookies.
- Content Security Policy (CSP) and CORS domain whitelisting.
- Rate limiting per IP to prevent DDoS and brute-force attacks.