Authentication is the process of verifying a user's or system's identity to ensure they are who they claim to be. Traditional authentication methods like Basic Authentication and API keys have limitations and fail to provide adequate security in modern, complex environments like Kubernetes. Advanced authentication mechanisms such as OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), Mutual TLS (mTLS) authentication, and JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) provide more robust, flexible, and secure authentication and authorization capabilities. Integrating these mechanisms with a Kubernetes API gateway requires careful configuration and implementation to ensure scalability and performance. Edge Stack simplifies the integration of advanced authentication mechanisms, offering a declarative configuration approach and seamless integration with Kubernetes. By leveraging Edge Stack's features and following best practices, you can establish a secure and reliable authentication framework for your API gateway, safeguarding your applications and services from potential security threats.