Understanding JSON Web Tokens (JWT): Why Should We...
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JSON Web Tokens (JWT) are widely used in the tech industry for securely transmitting information between parties as a JSON object. They're especially useful because they can be signed, allowing you to verify the integrity of the claims contained within the JWT. Here are several big use cases where JWTs are not just good for, but are already extensively used in the real world: 1. Authentication & Authorization JWTs are most commonly used in the realm of authentication and authorization. After a user logs in, the server creates a JWT that certifies the user's identity and sends it back to the user. The user can then use this token to access protected resources by including the JWT in the header of HTTP requests. This approach is stateless, as the server does not need to keep a record of tokens. Companies and Fields: Social Media Platforms like Facebook and Twitter use JWT for user authentication. Cloud Providers such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud use JWTs for authenticating API requests. 2. Information Exchange JWTs are useful for securely transmitting information between parties. Because JWTs can be signed—either using a secret (with the HMAC algorithm) or a public/private key pair—you can be sure the senders are who they say they are and the information hasn’t been altered. Companies and Fields: Financial Services companies use JWTs for secure transaction and information exchange between different financial institutions. Healthcare organizations use JWTs to securely exchange patient data between systems, adhering to regulations like HIPAA.
3. Single Sign-On (SSO) Single Sign-On services use JWT extensively. SSO allows users to log in once and access services without re-authenticating. JWTs are used to create tokens that assert the user's identity and can be used to access a variety of resources. Companies and Fields: Okta and Auth0 are examples of Identity Access Management (IAM) services that use JWT for enabling SSO across different web applications and services. Corporate Environments where employees can access multiple internal applications using a single set of credentials. 4. IoT Devices Authentication In the Internet of Things (IoT), devices often need to authenticate themselves to services. JWTs provide a compact, URL-safe means of representing claims to be transferred between two parties, making them suitable for constrained environments. Companies and Fields: Smart Home Devices Manufacturers, such as those producing smart locks or thermostats, use JWTs to secure communications between devices and their controllers. Automotive companies use JWTs to authenticate and authorize connected vehicles and their users to access various online services. 5. Microservices Architecture In a microservices architecture, individual services need to authenticate requests from other services in a lightweight manner. JWTs are used to secure service-to-service communication, enabling each service to verify the authenticity of the requests it receives independently. Companies and Fields: Netflix and Uber use JWTs within their microservices architectures to manage service-to-service authentication and authorization. Conclusion These examples represent just a fraction of the use cases and industries where JWTs play a crucial role in securing communications and managing identities. Their flexibility, compact size, and ease of use make them a popular choice across a wide range of applications.
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You are amazing @quick-musician-29561 ! I think you should add this into #1132038253109837994 🙂
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Yes, you are right, #1132038253109837994 would have been a much better place for this; I don't know what I was thinking 😂 Maybe I was thinking when starting to study this JWT topic more myself that when other bot builders start asking more what it is, how it works and are seeking help, then we already have an answer here in the #1111009377525186570 section as well. And I wasn't sure if I knew enough about this topic yet to write a tutorial. I'll try to build 3-4 small chatbots using JSON Web Tokens in the following days, then I'll add (or move) this text there, with code, bot files, and some instructions also. I'm really excited about trying out external libraries in Botpress! Looking back at messages and DMs from a couple of months ago, where both I and other community bot builders didn't know how to use external libraries with Botpress, it's almost magical how everything we've tried now just works. And the best part is seeing that others are finding this interesting too and have already mentioned to me some really cool and advanced use cases which they try to build with these 🦸‍♂️ 🛠️
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