Encoding != encryption. This article isn't discussing JWE (JSON Web Encryption), but rather JWS (JSON Web Signature). These tokens are base64-encoded and signe

Encoding != encryption. This article isn't discussing JWE (JSON Web Encryption), but rather JWS (JSON Web Signature). These tokens are base64-encoded and signed. They can be decoded easily, but not forged or altered without knowledge of the secret key.