Secure API Gateway with Rate Limiting and JWT Authentication

Abstract

APIs form the foundation of modern applications, yet they remain highly vulnerable to various attacks such as brute force, token abuse, and DDoS. In this paper, we present a layered approach to secure APIs using API gateways, JWT-based authentication, and rate limiting. Through comparative analysis of tools like AWS API Gateway, Kong, Apigee, and NGINX, we highlight key features, strengths, and trade-offs. Our findings suggest that integrating JWT with rate limiting significantly improves API security and scalability across architectures.

Introduction

As cloud-native and microservice architectures become dominant, RESTful APIs have emerged as essential communication channels. However, their exposure increases the attack surface, necessitating robust security strategies. Traditional access controls are inadequate for the stateless and scalable nature of modern APIs. This paper proposes a security framework combining JWT authentication, rate limiting, and API gateways to protect APIs effectively.

Key Concepts & Components:

1. JWT (JSON Web Token) Authentication

• Structure: Header (algorithm), Payload (claims), Signature (integrity check).

• Advantages: Stateless, scalable, cross-platform.

• Challenges: Token theft, validation complexity, token expiry balance.

2. Rate Limiting

• Purpose: Prevent abuse (e.g., brute-force attacks, DDoS, bot activity).

• Algorithms:

  • Token Bucket: Allows bursts of traffic up to a defined limit.

  • Leaky Bucket: Smooths traffic by processing at a constant rate.

3. API Gateways

Act as intermediaries to enforce:

• Authentication

• Rate limiting

• Traffic routing

• Logging & monitoring

• Load balancing

Popular API Gateways Compared:

Security Threats Addressed:

• Brute Force Attacks: Throttled via rate limiting.

• Token Replay: Mitigated using short expiries and HTTPS.

• DDoS Attacks: Controlled through API gateways’ traffic policies.

• SQL Injection / Payload Tampering: Filtered early at the gateway level.

Conclusion

The modern internet infrastructure relies heavily on secure, scalable, and performant APIs. Our research shows that employing JWT-based authentication ensures stateless and scalable validation across microservices, while rate limiting protects against high-frequency attacks and promotes fair API usage. Integrating these within an API gateway abstracts complexity from individual services and allows central policy management. The comparative analysis shows that tools like Kong and AWS Gateway provide rich feature sets that are production-ready. Although Apigee offers enterprise-grade capabilities, its cost might be restrictive for startups. NGINX, though powerful, demands more manual configuration. Overall, our work emphasizes that robust API security requires proactive design choices—layered defenses at the gateway, token hygiene, and intelligent traffic controls. Future exploration could include adaptive rate limiting using machine learning, bot behavior prediction, and automated threat response mechanisms at the gateway level. Securing APIs is critical in the current application ecosystem. This research demonstrates that combining JWT authentication with rate limiting inside a well-configured API gateway significantly enhances both security and scalability. While tools like AWS and Kong offer out-of-the-box features, the right choice depends on project needs and budget. Future work may explore AI-based adaptive rate limiting and anomaly detection in API traffic.

References

[1] JWT.io Documentation [2] Kong, AWS, Apigee, NGINX Official Docs [3] ElHejazi M.F. et al., “Improving the Security and Reliability of SDN Controller REST APIs…” IEEE [4] Bucko A. et al., “Enhancing JWT Authentication and Authorization in Web Applications…” IEEE

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Shivam ., Mukti Gupta. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.