GNAP: OAuth the next generation

The year was 2012, and a revised security protocol called OAuth 2 swept the web, allowing users to use security providers to easily log in to websites. Many single sign-on systems, from AWS’s Cognito to Okta, implement OAuth. OAuth is what enables you to “authenticate with Google” or other providers to a completely different website or application.

It works like a beer festival. You go to a desk and authenticate with your ID (and some money), and they give you tokens. From there, you go to each beer tent and exchange a token for a beer. The individual brewer does not need to check your ID or ask if you paid. They just take the token and hand you a beer. OAuth works the same way, but with websites instead of beers.

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