Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) Practice Test

Using OpenID Connect to authenticate requests is an effective method for securing access to your API on Alibaba Cloud API Gateway because it provides a robust authentication framework that allows clients to verify their identity using an OAuth 2.0-based system. OpenID Connect establishes a secure means for users to authenticate via identity providers, allowing access tokens to be issued that grant permission to the API for authenticated users. This method ensures that only legitimate users can access the resources you expose through your API.

In contrast, limiting the number of users does not address the underlying security concerns regarding user authentication and can potentially lead to service denial if too many requests come from valid, authorized users. Using HTTP for requests does not provide encryption; hence it exposes your API traffic to interception and tampering. Ignoring request encryption leaves the API vulnerable to various types of attacks, such as man-in-the-middle attacks, compromising sensitive data and authentication tokens. Therefore, utilizing OpenID Connect is a comprehensive method that effectively enhances the security of API access.