Compared to BasicAuth, which mechanism does OAuth introduce to strengthen REST API security?

OAuth strengthens REST API security by introducing the concept of a token. Instead of directly using user credentials (like username/password as in BasicAuth) for every request, OAuth provides an access token that grants specific, limited permissions to a client application. This token can be revoked, has a limited lifespan, and doesn't expose the user's actual credentials to the client application. SSL and TLS are cryptographic protocols that provide secure communication channels (encryption and integrity) between a client and a server. While essential for securing API communication, they are not mechanisms introduced by OAuth itself; they secure the transmission of the token and other data. Authentication is the process of verifying a user's identity, which is a fundamental security concept that OAuth uses but doesn't introduce as its primary differentiating mechanism compared to BasicAuth.