What role do JSON Web Tokens (JWT) serve in ForgeRock?

JSON Web Tokens (JWT) serve primarily to transmit information securely. In ForgeRock, JWTs are widely used for identity and access management purposes. When a JWT is created, it encapsulates a set of claims about an entity (typically a user) in a compact, URL-safe format. This allows systems to share claims securely over the web.

The security comes from the ability to sign the JWT with a secret key or a public/private key pair, ensuring that the token cannot be altered without detection. This verification process allows the recipient to trust the information contained within the token without needing to contact the issuer every time it is evaluated.

Moreover, since the payload of the JWT can be encoded and contains information about user authentication and claims, it can be used effectively within decentralized architectures and microservices, making it an invaluable part of modern authentication frameworks in ForgeRock implementations.