diff --git a/docsite/docs/authentication.md b/docsite/docs/authentication.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d2bf1540b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docsite/docs/authentication.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# Authentication
+
+By default, Whitefox runs with authentication disabled.
+
+## Token authentication
+
+We provide a simple way to secure your application using a single static token.
+
+To enable token authentication you need to:
+
+- set `whitefox.server.authentication.enabled` to `true`
+- set `whitefox.server.authentication.bearerToken` to a secret string
+
+After doing so, you need to provide a http header such as `Authentication: Bearer $token` in every request otherwise
+you will receive a 401 error authentication error on the client.
+
+| property name                              | default value   | description                                     |
+|--------------------------------------------|-----------------|-------------------------------------------------|
+| whitefox.server.authentication.enabled     | false           | either true or false to enable authentication   |
+| whitefox.server.authentication.bearerToken |                 | the token used for authentication               |
+
+
+
+In order to set configurations refer to [Quarkus documentation](https://quarkus.io/guides/config-reference).
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/app/build.gradle.kts b/server/app/build.gradle.kts
index c85b7577c..1b564e1c7 100644
--- a/server/app/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/server/app/build.gradle.kts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ dependencies {
     // QUARKUS
     implementation(enforcedPlatform("${quarkusPlatformGroupId}:${quarkusPlatformArtifactId}:${quarkusPlatformVersion}"))
     implementation("io.quarkus:quarkus-arc")
+    implementation("io.quarkus:quarkus-security")
     implementation("io.quarkus:quarkus-container-image-docker")
     implementation("io.quarkus:quarkus-resteasy-reactive")
     implementation("io.quarkus:quarkus-resteasy-reactive-jackson")
diff --git a/server/app/src/main/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/SimpleTokenAuthenticationMechanism.java b/server/app/src/main/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/SimpleTokenAuthenticationMechanism.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..63155f56c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/app/src/main/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/SimpleTokenAuthenticationMechanism.java
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+package io.whitefox.api.server.auth;
+
+import io.netty.handler.codec.http.HttpHeaderNames;
+import io.netty.handler.codec.http.HttpResponseStatus;
+import io.quarkus.security.AuthenticationFailedException;
+import io.quarkus.security.identity.IdentityProviderManager;
+import io.quarkus.security.identity.SecurityIdentity;
+import io.quarkus.security.identity.request.AnonymousAuthenticationRequest;
+import io.quarkus.security.identity.request.AuthenticationRequest;
+import io.quarkus.security.runtime.QuarkusPrincipal;
+import io.quarkus.security.runtime.QuarkusSecurityIdentity;
+import io.quarkus.vertx.http.runtime.security.ChallengeData;
+import io.quarkus.vertx.http.runtime.security.HttpAuthenticationMechanism;
+import io.smallrye.mutiny.Uni;
+import io.vertx.ext.web.RoutingContext;
+import jakarta.inject.Inject;
+import java.util.Objects;
+import java.util.Optional;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+public class SimpleTokenAuthenticationMechanism implements HttpAuthenticationMechanism {
+
+  private static final String AUTHORIZATION_HEADER = "Authorization";
+  private static final QuarkusPrincipal principal = new QuarkusPrincipal("Mr. WhiteFox");
+
+  String token;
+
+  @Inject
+  IdentityProviderManager identityProvider;
+
+  public SimpleTokenAuthenticationMechanism(String token) {
+    this.token = token;
+  }
+
+  private Uni<SecurityIdentity> anonymous() {
+    return identityProvider.authenticate(AnonymousAuthenticationRequest.INSTANCE);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public Uni<SecurityIdentity> authenticate(
+      RoutingContext context, IdentityProviderManager identityProviderManager) {
+    if (context.normalizedPath().startsWith("/q/")) return anonymous();
+    var optionalHeader = Optional.ofNullable(context.request().headers().get(AUTHORIZATION_HEADER));
+    QuarkusSecurityIdentity identity =
+        new QuarkusSecurityIdentity.Builder().setPrincipal(principal).build();
+    AuthenticationFailedException missingOrUnrecognizedCredentials =
+        new AuthenticationFailedException("Missing or unrecognized credentials");
+    AuthenticationFailedException missingToken = new AuthenticationFailedException(
+        "Simple authentication enabled, but token is missing in the request");
+    if (optionalHeader.isEmpty()) throw missingToken;
+    else {
+      if (Objects.equals("Bearer " + token, optionalHeader.get())) {
+        return Uni.createFrom().item(identity);
+      } else {
+        throw missingOrUnrecognizedCredentials;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Not really needed for this mechanism, does not get called;
+  // The response to the user is handled through a custom attemptAuthentication from
+  // WhitefoxHttpAuthenticator
+  @Override
+  public Uni<ChallengeData> getChallenge(RoutingContext context) {
+    var challenge = "token -> " + token;
+    ChallengeData result = new ChallengeData(
+        HttpResponseStatus.UNAUTHORIZED.code(), HttpHeaderNames.WWW_AUTHENTICATE, challenge);
+    return Uni.createFrom().item(result);
+  }
+
+  // no need for this mechanism, for others
+  @Override
+  public Set<Class<? extends AuthenticationRequest>> getCredentialTypes() {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/server/app/src/main/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/WhitefoxAuthenticationConfig.java b/server/app/src/main/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/WhitefoxAuthenticationConfig.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e7d69458d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/app/src/main/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/WhitefoxAuthenticationConfig.java
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+package io.whitefox.api.server.auth;
+
+import io.smallrye.config.ConfigMapping;
+import io.smallrye.config.WithDefault;
+import io.smallrye.config.WithName;
+import java.util.Optional;
+
+/** Configuration for Whitefox authentication settings. */
+@ConfigMapping(prefix = "whitefox.server.authentication")
+public interface WhitefoxAuthenticationConfig {
+
+  /** Returns {@code true} if Whitefox authentication is enabled. */
+  @WithName("enabled")
+  @WithDefault("false")
+  boolean enabled();
+
+  /** Bearer token that should be used in requests to grant authorization. */
+  @WithName("bearerToken")
+  Optional<String> bearerToken();
+}
diff --git a/server/app/src/main/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/WhitefoxHttpAuthenticator.java b/server/app/src/main/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/WhitefoxHttpAuthenticator.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cded7d6e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/app/src/main/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/WhitefoxHttpAuthenticator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+package io.whitefox.api.server.auth;
+
+import io.quarkus.security.AuthenticationFailedException;
+import io.quarkus.security.identity.IdentityProvider;
+import io.quarkus.security.identity.IdentityProviderManager;
+import io.quarkus.security.identity.SecurityIdentity;
+import io.quarkus.security.identity.request.AnonymousAuthenticationRequest;
+import io.quarkus.vertx.http.runtime.security.HttpAuthenticationMechanism;
+import io.quarkus.vertx.http.runtime.security.HttpAuthenticator;
+import io.quarkus.vertx.http.runtime.security.PathMatchingHttpSecurityPolicy;
+import io.smallrye.mutiny.Uni;
+import io.vertx.ext.web.RoutingContext;
+import jakarta.annotation.Priority;
+import jakarta.enterprise.inject.Alternative;
+import jakarta.enterprise.inject.Instance;
+import jakarta.inject.Inject;
+import jakarta.inject.Singleton;
+
+/**
+ * A custom {@link HttpAuthenticator}. This authenticator that performs the following main duties:
+ *
+ * <ul>
+ *   <li>Authenticates requests using a token provided in the application.properties when authentication is enabled.
+ *   <li>Completely disallows unauthenticated requests when authentication is enabled.
+ * </ul>
+ */
+@Alternative // @Alternative + @Priority ensure the original HttpAuthenticator bean is not used
+@Priority(1)
+@Singleton
+public class WhitefoxHttpAuthenticator extends HttpAuthenticator {
+
+  private final IdentityProviderManager identityProvider;
+  private final boolean authEnabled;
+  private final WhitefoxAuthenticationConfig config;
+
+  @Inject
+  public WhitefoxHttpAuthenticator(
+      WhitefoxAuthenticationConfig config,
+      IdentityProviderManager identityProviderManager,
+      Instance<PathMatchingHttpSecurityPolicy> pathMatchingPolicy,
+      Instance<HttpAuthenticationMechanism> httpAuthenticationMechanism,
+      Instance<IdentityProvider<?>> providers) {
+    super(identityProviderManager, pathMatchingPolicy, httpAuthenticationMechanism, providers);
+    this.identityProvider = identityProviderManager;
+    this.config = config;
+    authEnabled = config.enabled();
+  }
+
+  private HttpAuthenticationMechanism selectAuthenticationMechanism(
+      WhitefoxAuthenticationConfig config, RoutingContext context) {
+    if (config.bearerToken().isPresent()) {
+      return new SimpleTokenAuthenticationMechanism(config.bearerToken().get());
+    } else {
+      throw new AuthenticationFailedException(
+          "Other auth mechanisms not supported right now! Please add your token to application.properties");
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public Uni<SecurityIdentity> attemptAuthentication(RoutingContext context) {
+    if (!authEnabled) {
+      return anonymous();
+    }
+    // quarkus dev paths
+    else if (context.normalizedPath().startsWith("/q/")) {
+      return anonymous();
+    } else {
+      return selectAuthenticationMechanism(config, context).authenticate(context, identityProvider);
+    }
+  }
+
+  private Uni<SecurityIdentity> anonymous() {
+    return identityProvider.authenticate(AnonymousAuthenticationRequest.INSTANCE);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/server/app/src/main/resources/application.properties b/server/app/src/main/resources/application.properties
index a464ba296..7a2c0fe6f 100644
--- a/server/app/src/main/resources/application.properties
+++ b/server/app/src/main/resources/application.properties
@@ -1,2 +1,4 @@
 io.delta.sharing.api.server.defaultMaxResults=10
-quarkus.banner.path=banner.txt
\ No newline at end of file
+quarkus.banner.path=banner.txt
+
+whitefox.server.authentication.enabled=false
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/app/src/test/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/WhitefoxHttpAuthenticatorTest.java b/server/app/src/test/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/WhitefoxHttpAuthenticatorTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e73db3916
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/app/src/test/java/io/whitefox/api/server/auth/WhitefoxHttpAuthenticatorTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+package io.whitefox.api.server.auth;
+
+import static io.restassured.RestAssured.given;
+
+import io.quarkus.test.junit.QuarkusTest;
+import io.quarkus.test.junit.QuarkusTestProfile;
+import io.quarkus.test.junit.TestProfile;
+import io.restassured.http.Header;
+import io.whitefox.api.model.v1.generated.CreateMetastore;
+import io.whitefox.api.model.v1.generated.MetastoreProperties;
+import io.whitefox.api.model.v1.generated.SimpleAwsCredentials;
+import java.util.Map;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Nested;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+@QuarkusTest
+@TestProfile(WhitefoxHttpAuthenticatorTest.AuthenticationProfile.class)
+public class WhitefoxHttpAuthenticatorTest {
+
+  private final CreateMetastore createMetastore = new CreateMetastore()
+      .name("glue_metastore_prod")
+      .skipValidation(false)
+      .type(CreateMetastore.TypeEnum.GLUE)
+      .properties(new MetastoreProperties()
+          .catalogId("123")
+          .credentials(new SimpleAwsCredentials()
+              .awsAccessKeyId("access")
+              .awsSecretAccessKey("secret")
+              .region("eu-west1")));
+
+  public static class AuthenticationProfile implements QuarkusTestProfile {
+    @Override
+    public Map<String, String> getConfigOverrides() {
+      return Map.of(
+          "whitefox.server.authentication.enabled",
+          "true",
+          "whitefox.server.authentication.bearerToken",
+          "myToken");
+    }
+  }
+
+  public static class NoAuthenticationProfile implements QuarkusTestProfile {
+    @Override
+    public Map<String, String> getConfigOverrides() {
+      return Map.of("whitefox.server.authentication.enabled", "false");
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Nesting two test-profiles leads to an OOM: https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/12498
+  @Test
+  void expectDenied() {
+    given()
+        .when()
+        .get("/whitefox-api/v1/metastores/{name}", createMetastore.getName())
+        .then()
+        .statusCode(401);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void expectAcceptedWithAuth() {
+    given()
+        .when()
+        .header(new Header("Authorization", "Bearer myToken"))
+        .get("/whitefox-api/v1/metastores/{name}", createMetastore.getName())
+        .then()
+        .statusCode(404);
+  }
+
+  @Nested
+  @TestProfile(WhitefoxHttpAuthenticatorTest.NoAuthenticationProfile.class)
+  class TestNotAuthorized {
+
+    @Test
+    void expectAccepted() {
+      given()
+          .when()
+          .get("/whitefox-api/v1/metastores/{name}", createMetastore.getName())
+          .then()
+          .statusCode(404);
+    }
+  }
+}