Microservice Security Agent Based On API Gateway in Edge Computing.

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Cybersecurity
• Distributed Systems

Background:

• Internet of Things (IoT) devices have constrained resources, necessitating edge computing for efficient data processing.
• Edge computing, while beneficial, faces significant security and privacy challenges, including data leakage and unauthorized manipulation.
• Existing security mechanisms are insufficient to guarantee data confidentiality and integrity in microservice-based edge environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a microservice security agent for integrating edge computing platforms with API gateway technology.
• To provide a secure authentication and access mechanism for edge computing services.
• To enable user authentication and secure access using JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for edge computing clients.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a microservice security agent using the open-source Kong platform within the EdgeX Foundry framework.
• Integration of the agent with an API gateway to manage authentication and access control.
• Development of REST APIs for consumer management, service registration, and access control configuration.

Main Results:

• The proposed system effectively integrates edge computing with API gateway technology for secure authentication.
• The implemented solution provides user authentication and JWT-based secure access to edge services.
• Evaluation of round trip time (RTT) demonstrated the system's efficiency and suitability for real-world applications.

Conclusions:

• The microservice security agent offers a practical solution for enhancing security in edge computing environments.
• The approach ensures secure access to microservices, protecting data confidentiality and integrity.
• The system is efficient and suitable for real-world IoT applications requiring robust security measures.