What are the common security mechanisms used to secure RESTful APIs?

Secure RESTful APIs employ various mechanisms to protect data and authenticate clients. SSL/TLS encryption ensures that data transmitted between clients and servers is encrypted, preventing unauthorized access and eavesdropping. OAuth 2.0 is a popular authorization framework that allows secure token-based authentication, enabling clients to access resources on behalf of users without exposing sensitive credentials. JWT (JSON Web Tokens) are used for securely transmitting information between parties as compact, URL-safe tokens, facilitating stateless authentication and authorization in RESTful architectures. IP whitelisting restricts access to API endpoints based on predefined IP addresses, enhancing security by allowing only trusted clients to interact with the API. Each of these mechanisms plays a vital role in safeguarding RESTful APIs against common security threats such as data breaches, unauthorized access, and man-in-the-middle attacks.