title: Secure JSON requests and responses
body: <p>This may be a stupid question, but how can one write a secure RESTful API? If I want to ensure that the client is a valid user, would it be unwise to send a post request with the following object?</p>
  
  <pre><code>{
    "user": "some_user",
    "password": "some_password"
    "field1": "some_data",
    "field2": "some_more_data"
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I currently hesitate to do something like that. Doesn't that reveal the username and password in plain text to everyone on the network and everything between the client and the server? Should I use SSL or something similar? Are there any RESTful security readings you have found valuable?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks for the help.</p>