Discover secure access for GraphQL APIs: an AWS live-stream
Tags: authorization, discovery, api, auth0
Published: 2023-12-21 09:11:54

---
title: Discover secure access for GraphQL APIs: an AWS live-stream
published: true
date: 2023-12-20 17:19:26 UTC
tags: Authorization,Discovery,API,auth0
canonical_url: https://discovery.cevolution.co.uk/auth0/2023/12/20/aws-live-stream-on-securing-access-to-graphql-apis/
---

Recently, one of my colleagues invited me to an AWS live stream talk she was giving about building secure GraphQL APIs, using Auth0. She’s been doing a number of these AWS events of late – both live stream and in-person – and as this one was going to essentially be on the topic of _Delegated Authorization_, she asked me to come along and share some of my experience from an Auth0 perspective 😎

Auth0 – the SaaS platform that powers the [Okta Customer Identity Cloud](https://www.okta.com/customer-identity) – is a great example of an off-the-shelf OAuth 2.0 Authorization Server. It isn’t the only one that’s out there, for sure, but it is one that I’ve been working with for more than 5 years now to deliver real value for developers 😄 In the context of OAuth 2.0, an (OAuth 2.0) Authorization Server is the thing that fundamentally enables a large part of the workflow behind Delegated Authorization.

## What is Delegated Authorization?

Delegated Authorization is a mechanism that allows a third-party application to act on behalf of a user when accessing the protected resources for that user (typically via an API). Delegated Authorization also introduces the notion of _Consent_, where a user agrees to the _Scope_ of access an application desires. In the case of OAuth 2.0, Delegated Authorization results in the generation of an _Access Token_ which is typically consumed by an API as a _Bearer Token_. And an Access Token is typically generated by the Authorization Server upon successful verification of a users’ credentials (et al), using one of a number of “flows” – the most common being _Authorization Code Flow_ and _Authorization Code Flow with PKCE_. You can discover more about Delegated Authorization, and what Auth0 provides to support this, at [https://a0.to/do/apiz](https://a0.to/do/apiz).

## The thing wot we presented

I decided to present on three topics related to securing API access: _Delegated Authorization_, obviously, _Attack Protection_ and _Access Control_; the latter I sub-divided into _Role Based Access Control_ and _Relationship Based Access Control_. You can discover more about each of those other topics at [https://a0.to/do/protect](https://a0.to/do/protect), [https://a0.to/do/rbac](https://a0.to/do/rbac) and [https://a0.to/do/fga](https://a0.to/do/fga) respectively. Below are some screenshots of the slides I used as part of my presentation 😊

![What is Authorization?](https://i0.wp.com/discovery.cevolution.co.uk/auth0/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/What-is-Authorization-e1703098274588-1024x576.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1)

![What is Delegated Authorization](https://i0.wp.com/discovery.cevolution.co.uk/auth0/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/What-is-Delegated-Authorization-e1703098252983-1024x576.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1)

![What is RBAC?](https://i0.wp.com/discovery.cevolution.co.uk/auth0/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/What-is-Role-Based-Access-Control-e1703098232174-1024x576.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1)

![What is ReBAC](https://i0.wp.com/discovery.cevolution.co.uk/auth0/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/What-is-Relationship-Based-Access-Control-e1703098210386-1024x576.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1)

![Attack Protection](https://i0.wp.com/discovery.cevolution.co.uk/auth0/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/Attack-Protection-e1703098188147-1024x576.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1)

If you missed us live, then you can always catch our recording [here](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2008346650) on Twitch TV. I would highly recommend it, as my colleague – Pradheepa – goes into a really good demo of using both [AWS AppSync](https://aws.amazon.com/pm/appsync/) and [Amazon Bedrock](https://aws.amazon.com/bedrock/)! She definitely does the much more exciting part of the show! 😂

This was my first live-stream with AWS, and it was great fun to be part of. In fact, it was my first live-stream in quite some time! It’s always a pleasure working with Pradheepa, and Stuart – the show host from AWS – did a fantastic job at putting everyone at ease and setting the tone for the whole piece. I hope to do more of these in the near future, and from this one I will take away the following “fun” fact: I really need to invest in a better mic! 🤦🏻‍♂️

I hope you enjoy the recording, and I also hope you have a very enjoyable time over the festive season wherever you are 🤗