During the past few years, there has been a great advancement in the field of cloud computing. The technology shares the characteristics with client-server model, autonomic computing, mainframe computer, etc. It is not just beneficial for users but also for the organizations operating across the world. Following the growing popularity of cloud computing, it has been on the radar of the hackers, due to which the security of users is now becoming a concern for businesses. This is where Authentication in Cloud Computing comes into the picture.
Authentication is the process of ensuring whether someone or something is exactly the one who or what it declares itself to be. In simple words, authentication is the process of ensuring if the person trying to access particular details or account is the actual owner and authorized person. Authentication technology on Cloud provides access control for systems by ensuring if the user’s credential matches with the database. Cloud supports different kinds of authentication methods that may be useful for different applications to protect the data and details of the users.
1. Google Authentication
This is one of the most effective and used authentication methods. It allows the users to sign-in using their Google account details. The users can simply log-in to their account using Google account details and when the user is authenticated, he (or she) has the right to access to all Google services and a Google ID token. Google Authentication technique ensures that the JWT was signed by Google and the issuer is listed on the API configuration.
2.API key
This is a simple encrypted string available that is designed to identify a Google Cloud Platform for multiple purposes like project for quota, billing, and monitoring. This can be implemented by simply generating an API key in a project in the GCP Console and then embedding it in every call to the API. If you specify an API key in your configuration, it works the following ways:
ESP uses the API key to identify the GCP project that the API key is associated with
Unless the API key was generated in your GCP project, the ESP rejects requests.
The API keys are part of the request, making it an effective way to secure the user data. It is recommended do not use API keys when API calls contain user data.
3. Firebase Authentication
Firebase Authentication is designed to authenticate users to a mobile or web app with the support of backend services, SDKs, and libraries. Different types of credentials are used to authenticate users like Google, Facebook, Twitter, GitHub, etc. Once the user successfully signs in to the account, the Firebase client library signs a JSON Web Token (JWT) with a private key.
4. Auth0 Authentication
This is another commonly known authentication technique used to ensure the complete safety of users and the data involved. Auth0 Authentication not just ensures to authenticate and authorize apps and APIs, it also identity agnostic. This works similar to the Firebase Authentication that is designed to backend services, such as SDKs and user interface libraries to ensure safety of web and mobile apps. It also validates the JWT to ensure that the issuer matches the API configuration.
In cloud computing, the service providers store the account information of customers in the cloud to allow them easy access to the information according to their requirements. The lack of security makes it difficult for customers to trust a particular platform. The above mentioned are some of the commonly used authentication techniques in Cloud. There are many other, but they have been rated as the most effective and reliable ones. Not all techniques are suitable for every app or solution, but the choice must be made smartly, according to specific requirements.
