API Security and Authentication Intensive

Event Overview

API security breaks down in predictable ways: leaked keys, token hijacking, injection attacks, and rate limit bypasses. This intensive course focuses on preventing these specific vulnerabilities in your API design and implementation.

We start with authentication mechanisms: when to use API keys versus OAuth2 flows, how JWT tokens actually work and their security implications, and implementing refresh token rotation. You will build authentication systems that handle token expiration, revocation, and scope-based authorization properly.

Defense layers

Beyond authentication, we cover input validation that prevents SQL injection and NoSQL injection, rate limiting algorithms that work under load, and CORS policies that protect without breaking legitimate clients. You will learn to spot timing attacks, implement request signing for sensitive operations, and use HTTPS correctly including certificate pinning for mobile clients.

Each vulnerability includes a practical exercise: you will exploit the weakness in a sample API, then fix it properly. The course includes security checklist templates and code review guidelines you can use immediately.