Tokens

Payment Technologies: Wallets, Tokens, and Cards Payment technologies today blend convenience with security. Digital wallets, token systems, and both physical and virtual cards play distinct roles in everyday shopping. Wallets act as secure accounts that hold payment methods and credentials. Tokens replace card numbers during payment processing, reducing data exposure. Cards remain a familiar way to pay and are supported by global networks. Together, wallets, tokens, and cards enable fast checkouts in stores, apps, and online, while keeping sensitive information safer. ...

Securing APIs: best practices and patterns APIs connect apps, services, and users. Security should be built in from the start, not added later. In this article you’ll find practical patterns you can apply today to protect your API surface. Clear policies, simple rules, and good tooling make a big difference for teams of any size. Authentication and authorization Choose OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect for most flows. Use short-lived access tokens and rotate them with refresh tokens. For public clients like mobile apps and single-page apps, add PKCE to prevent code interception. Define clear scopes and an audience so a token can only access what it should. ...

API Security: Protecting Endpoints and Data APIs power many apps, but they also create entry points for attackers. A small misstep—like a leaked token or weak input validation—can expose data or disrupt services. This guide covers practical steps to protect endpoints and the data they handle. Start with strong authentication and precise access. Use OAuth 2.0 or OpenID Connect, issue short-lived access tokens, and keep refresh tokens separate. Enforce scopes and roles so each client can only do what it needs. Store tokens securely and avoid putting them in URLs or logs. ...

API Security: Protecting Access to Your Services APIs connect apps and services across teams and borders. If access isn’t well protected, data leaks and outages can follow. Good API security starts with two ideas: authentication (who is calling) and authorization (what they are allowed to do). Start with simple rules and grow them as your system scales. For small projects, an API key or a basic token may be enough. For larger systems, stronger methods are worth it. Use OAuth 2.0 for user and service access, and consider JWTs to carry useful claims. Mutual TLS (mTLS) helps verify both sides in service-to-service calls. Treat tokens like passwords and protect them in transit and at rest. ...

API Security Fundamentals: Protecting Endpoints APIs are the doors to modern services. Endpoints face many threats, from weak passwords to automated abuse. A solid security base helps you protect data, keep users safe, and stay reliable as you grow. Think of security as a design choice, not a last step. Protecting endpoints starts with identity and access. Treat every request as untrusted and verify who is calling, and what they can do. A gateway can help by acting as the first line of defense before requests reach internal services. ...

API Security: Protecting Access and Data APIs connect services and people, but they also open doors to data. A small security gap can expose user details, disrupt operations, and raise costs. Good API security blends people, processes, and technology. It focuses on who can access what, how access is granted, and how data stays protected at every step. Protecting access starts with strong authentication and clear authorization. Use proven standards like OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect for user access, and apply short-lived tokens with narrow scopes. For service-to-service calls, consider mutual TLS (mTLS) where possible. Treat every token as a trust certificate: validate its audience, expiry, and the specific actions allowed. Keep credentials rotating, and revoke access when needed. Favor least privilege: tokens should never grant more permission than necessary. ...

Natural Language Processing: From Tokens to Meaningful Insights Natural Language Processing helps computers understand human text and turn it into usable insights. From emails and reviews to news and social posts, NLP lets systems summarize, categorize, or answer questions. The journey goes from raw words to structured meaning, guiding decisions in business, research, and daily tools. Getting to tokens Before a machine can learn, it needs something simple: tokens. Tokenization breaks text into words or subwords. Next, normalization cleans the data: lowercasing, removing punctuation, and sometimes stemming or lemmatization. For example, a sentence like “The product is great, but shipping was slow” is split into individual tokens and standardized. Cleaning helps reduce noise, but the level of detail depends on the task. ...

Secure API Design: Tokens, Roles, and Scopes APIs stay secure when they rely on tokens rather than user names. A token proves who is calling the API and what they are allowed to do. Roles group users or services by duty, while scopes limit each call to a specific action or resource. Tokens are issued by an authorization server after proper checks. Each API request carries the token, and the API validates it, checks its issuer (iss), audience (aud), and expiration (exp). The endpoint then confirms required scopes and, where needed, a user or service role. ...