I am a newbie to API development, but have successfully managed to implement CI REST Server by Phil Sturgeon and Chris Kacerguis by reading all articles I could find, but there is one answer that eludes me, from the following question: CodeIgniter REST API Library Ajax PUT throwing 403 Forbidden and How can I generate an API Key in My own Controller in Codeigniter.
I have added the "boguskey" to the database as suggested in the first question's accepted answer, but I am confused about security here. If I need to have a hard-coded API key to generate new keys, and someone can view the header to see this bogus API key, how do I secure my API then from someone who then use this API key to generate tons of API keys for us within my API? If I do not add the boguskey, then I get "Invalid API key" regardless of which function I call.
My apologies if this is a stupid question, but if someone has an example of how I can generate keys securely (or at least inform me if I am misinterpreting the situation) I will greatly appreciate it.