While analyzing traffic from an API authentication request, an analyst identifies the header: "Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3OCIsIn...MGMONTcif…

Question

Options

• Abasic
• BAPI keys
• Ctoken
• Dform-based

• B
  3% (1)
• C
  93% (37)
• D
  5% (2)

Explanation

Option C (token) is correct because the Authorization: Bearer header with a eyJ... value is the hallmark of JWT (JSON Web Token) authentication - a form of token-based auth where a signed, encoded token is passed with each request to prove identity. The eyJ prefix is base64-encoded {" (the start of a JSON header), making JWTs instantly recognizable in traffic captures.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (Basic): Basic auth uses Authorization: Basic <base64(username:password)>, not Bearer.
• B (API keys): API keys are typically passed as a custom header (e.g., X-API-Key: abc123) or query parameter, not as a Bearer token.
• D (Form-based): Form-based auth submits credentials via an HTML form body (POST), not in an Authorization header at all.

Memory tip: Think "Bearer = Bearer of a token" - whoever holds (bears) the token gets access. If you see Bearer eyJ..., it's always a JWT token, and JWTs are the canonical example of token-based authentication.

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