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Interview question · Identity, OAuth & Access Control

How can a website tell that a request really comes from a specific AI agent or crawler? Explain signed requests and Web Bot Auth.

A user agent string is a claim anyone can type. A signature over the request is a claim only the key holder can make. The interesting part is what that signature still does not tell the site.

mediumNewPreparation tags: Cloudflare, Google, OpenAIUpdated Nov 2026

A user agent string is a claim anyone can type. A signature over the request is a claim only the key holder can make. The interesting part is what that signature still does not tell the site.

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What would you say before reading the answer?

  1. 01 State the assumptions your answer depends on.
  2. 02 Explain the mechanism and choose a control.
  3. 03 Name a condition that would change your decision.

The worked answer includes an approach, scoring criteria and follow-up questions. Compare the reasoning with your own.

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What if · the follow-ups in this answer

The answer works through 4 follow-ups like an interviewer would

An online retailer sees heavy traffic claiming to be a well-known AI shopping assistant. Some of it follows the rules; some of it scrapes prices aggressively from cloud IP addresses. The retailer wants to allow the real assistant and block the rest.

  1. Why can't the retailer trust the User-Agent or IP addresses?
  2. How does a signed request change this?
  3. The verified assistant wants to place an order for a user. Is the signature enough?
  4. What policy should the retailer adopt?

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