Securing APIs with JWT and JWKS

JSON Web Tokens (JWT) are the standard for securing modern APIs. Kivuz IAM issues JWTs that your APIs can verify using JSON Web Key Sets (JWKS).

How JWT Authentication Works

User authenticates with Kivuz IAM

IAM issues a signed JWT containing user claims

Client sends JWT in the Authorization header

API verifies the JWT signature using JWKS

API extracts user info and permissions from claims

Benefits

• No shared secrets — Public key cryptography
• Key rotation — Automatic key management
• Standard protocol — Interoperable with any JWT library
• Scalable — Stateless verification across services