Authentication Explained: When to Use Basic, Bearer, OAuth2, JWT and SSO
2 days ago
- #security
- #system-design
- #authentication
- Authentication is crucial in system design, affecting scalability, user experience, and security.
- Basic Authentication uses encoded usernames and passwords but is insecure without HTTPS.
- Bearer Tokens are more secure and stateless, making them ideal for scalable API designs.
- OAuth2 allows login via trusted providers like Google without sharing passwords, using JWTs for stateless authentication.
- Modern systems use short-lived access tokens and long-lived refresh tokens for seamless and secure user sessions.
- Single Sign-On (SSO) enables users to log in once and access multiple services, powered by OAuth2 or SAML.
- Authentication verifies identity, while authorization determines permissions, a key distinction in security.