In: Categories » Internet » APIs and Web Feeds » Advantages and Disadvantages of Client Side Certificates
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The API server can generate a certificate and provide it to the client via a secure channel before any requests are made. This certificate is then used in the authentication process; this confirms the identity of both the client and server before requests are made. Although this method provides the greatest level of security (barring a dedicated VPN connection, which won't be covered here), it also has the most strenuous requirements on both sides: not all modules (say, NuSOAP) can handle client-side certificates. Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Client-side certificates are as good as it gets in terms of API security; both the server and client are assured of the other's identity. Just like using an SSL endpoint, client-side certificates stack well with either HTTP authentication or message-based authentication. As with all forms of security, this increased level of security comes with a price: additional CPU load for both the client and the server, and the elimination of several useful client-side tools for interacting with the API.
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