PingGateway

What it is:

PingGateway is a flexible, lightweight API security gateway offered by Ping Identity. It serves as a Policy Enforcement Point (PEP) that intercepts and protects RESTful API traffic using identity-aware access policies. PingGateway integrates with PingAuthorize and PingFederate to enforce authentication, authorization, and traffic control rules in front of APIs, microservices, and legacy systems—without requiring code changes in backend applications.

Why it matters:

In modern identity architectures, especially Zero Trust and API-first models, securing API traffic is critical. PingGateway provides:

• Centralized authorization enforcement for APIs

• Strong identity propagation between services using tokens (e.g., JWT, OAuth2)

• A flexible bridge between identity providers and downstream systems

• API protection at the edge, minimizing the attack surfaceIt enables regulated organizations to implement consistent, policy-driven access control across distributed applications and services.
  

How it works:

PingGateway is typically deployed as a standalone reverse proxy or sidecar in Kubernetes clusters, where it:

• Accepts incoming API requests and enforces pre-configured authorization policies

• Validates OAuth 2.0 / OIDC tokens issued by PingFederate or PingOne

• Interacts with PingAuthorize to obtain access decisions based on user roles, attributes, and contextual data

Supports header injection, request/response transformation, and logging for audit compliance

Midships configures PingGateway as part of its hardened IAM stacks to enforce runtime controls without rewriting existing applications.