March 24th, 2025

Secure APIs with Data API Builder, Keycloak, and SQL Server

Alessio Tugnoli
Data Engineer

Guest Post

Alessio Tugnoli is a Data Engineer at IBM and a SME within the Data & AI practice. He delivers modern data warehouse solutions, leveraging his expertise in SQL, Python, distributed systems, and Azure Cloud — with Docker always present in his toolbox. Passionate about cybersecurity, he is constantly exploring, testing, and sharing new technologies. Thanks Alessio!

In this article, we’ll explore how to create a secure, on-premises API using Data API Builder (DAB), Keycloak, and SQL Server. You’ll learn to set up JSON Web Token (JWT) authentication with Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC), and Row-Level Security (RLS), ideal for secure business scenarios.