API Gateway Request Transformation for Secure Microservice Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Microservice architectures face security threats due to exposure of underlying microservice architecture information, which can be exploited by malicious actors for disruptive attacks, and require improved management techniques.
Innovation Solution
A secure API gateway that encrypts and transforms API requests and responses using service mapping and transformation rules, ensuring end-to-end encryption and obfuscation of microservice architecture details, providing a single entry point for communication and supporting multitenancy across entities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If microservice architecture information is exposed for development and deployment, then ease of operation and adaptability improve, but security deteriorates due to exploitation risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an API gateway as an intermediary component between client devices and microservices. The gateway receives, decrypts, transforms, and forwards API requests while hiding the actual microservice architecture details. This mediator enables secure communication without exposing internal architecture, resolving the contradiction between operational ease and security.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes parameters including encryption/decryption of API requests, transformation of URL paths, headers, bodies, and cookies. These parameter changes allow the system to maintain security while enabling flexible microservice management and adaptation to different client requirements.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If encryption and transformation of API requests are implemented, then security improves, but device complexity increases due to additional processing components
Solution Approach 1:
The API gateway is designed as a universal system that performs multiple functions: decryption, URL path transformation, header transformation, body transformation, cookie transformation, and forwarding. By consolidating these diverse functions into a single multi-functional gateway, the system achieves high security without proportionally increasing overall complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If URL paths and request bodies are encrypted, then security improves, but information loss increases making it harder to determine target services
Solution Approach 1:
The API gateway performs preliminary decryption and transformation of API requests before forwarding them to the appropriate microservices. By pre-processing the encrypted requests with the correct decryption keys and transformation rules, the system maintains security while ensuring that target service identification information is properly recovered and routed.
Data Source
AI summary
Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for secure and efficient management of a plurality of microservices. Certain aspects include receiving, from a first client device, a first request to call a target service Application Programming Interface (API), wherein: a first body of the first request is encrypted, and the first request comprises a first Uniform Resource Locator (URL) path comprising a first identifier associated with the target service API; generating a decrypted first request by decrypting the first request to call the target service API; determining the target service API based on the first identifier; generating a transformed first request by applying one or more transforms to the decrypted first request according to one or more first configured request transformation rules; and sending the transformed first request to the target service API.