9. How to Secure a Public REST API | Best Practices & System Design Interview

APIs are the gateways to your application's data—and an unsecured public API is a hacker's dream! Welcome back to Coding Vibes. In Episode 9 of our Top 50 Backend Scenario-Based Questions, we tackle one of the most critical questions asked in any backend engineering or system design interview: "How would you secure a public REST API?" Security is not an afterthought; it is a core architectural decision. In this video, I will walk you through a multi-layered security approach to protect your backend from unauthorized access, data breaches, DDoS attacks, and malicious payloads. What we cover in this video: • Authentication vs. Authorization: Implementing robust identity checks using JWT (JSON Web Tokens) and OAuth 2.0 for third-party access. • Transport-Level Security: Why enforcing HTTPS/TLS is non-negotiable for encrypting data in transit. • Input Validation & Sanitization: Protecting your database from SQL Injection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. • Rate Limiting & Throttling: Preventing brute-force attacks and DDoS by controlling request volumes (using Redis & API Gateways). • CORS & API Gateways: Configuring Cross-Origin Resource Sharing safely and using cloud-native firewalls (like AWS WAF & API Gateway) to block threats before they reach your Node.js backend. Whether you are building a production-ready application or preparing for a senior software engineering interview, mastering API security is an absolute requirement. 👍 If you found these API security best practices helpful, please hit the LIKE button and SUBSCRIBE to Coding Vibes! 👇 What is your go-to method for API Authentication: JWT, Sessions, or OAuth? Let me know in the comments below! Secure REST API, API Security Best Practices, How to secure an API, JWT Authentication, OAuth 2.0, System Design Interview, Backend Developer Interview Questions, Node.js Security, SQL Injection Prevention, API Rate Limiting, CORS, AWS API Gateway, Cyber Security, Software Engineering, Tech Interview Prep, Coding Vibes, Avinash Kumbhar. #APISecurity #BackendDevelopment #SystemDesign #CodingVibes #NodeJS #CyberSecurity #RESTAPI #SoftwareEngineering #TechInterview #WebArchitecture