Securing data in your Next.js app with Okta and OpenFGA

In this blog post, the author discusses securing data in Next.js applications using Okta and OpenFGA. The post highlights the importance of maintaining data security as modern applications become more complex with large codebases operating across multiple environments. It introduces the concept of a Data Access Layer (DAL) to centralize authentication and authorization checks, making it easier to maintain data security in Next.js applications. The post also explains the differences between confidential and public environments, as well as server and client components in Next.js applications. It emphasizes the need for double-checking actions from the browser when interacting with a confidential environment like a server. Additionally, the author introduces fine-grained authorization using relationship-based access control (ReBAC) and demonstrates how to implement it using OpenFGA in a Next.js application. The post provides an example of adding an authorization check for each action within the Data Access Layer and discusses error handling strategies. In conclusion, centralizing data operations within a DAL simplifies authentication and authorization checks, allowing developers to build secure and scalable Next.js applications.