API gateways handle requests from users and direct them to the right backend services. Without basic security, anyone could access your APIs, steal data, or disrupt your services. By adding simple security measures, you make sure only trusted users and applications can use your APIs. This keeps your data safe, protects your services from attacks, and helps you control who can access different parts of your system.

Common Security Features in API Gateways

API Gateways offer powerful security features that help protect your services from unauthorized access and malicious requests. Here are the most common security features you will use:

Authentication

Authentication checks if a user or system is who they claim to be. This usually involves verifying a token, API key, or username and password.

Example:

• A client sends a request to the API Gateway with a JSON Web Token (JWT) in the Authorization header. The gateway checks the token's validity before allowing access.

Authorization

Authorization determines what actions a user or system can perform after authentication. It controls access to specific resources or operations based on roles or permissions.

Example:

• After authentication, only users with an admin role can access /admin endpoints, while regular users receive a 403 Forbidden response if they try.

Request Validation

Request validation ensures that incoming requests have the correct structure, required fields, and valid data types. This prevents malformed or malicious data from reaching your services.

Example:

• The gateway checks that every request to /orders includes a valid orderId as a number and a customerEmail in the correct format. Requests missing these fields are rejected with a 400 Bad Request response.

IP Filtering

IP filtering allows or blocks requests based on their source IP address. This is useful for limiting access to trusted networks or blocking known malicious IPs.

Example:

• Only requests from specific company office IP addresses can access internal APIs. Requests from other IPs are denied with a 403 Forbidden response.

By using these features, you can secure your APIs and ensure that only valid, authorized traffic reaches your backend services.