diff --git a/config/stacks/clientWebsocketApi.ts b/config/stacks/clientWebsocketApi.ts
index 4585b9464..1ac34c193 100644
--- a/config/stacks/clientWebsocketApi.ts
+++ b/config/stacks/clientWebsocketApi.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { WebSocketApiStackProps } from '../../lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/deploy';
-import { AppStage, vpcProps } from '../constants';
+import { AppStage, vpcProps, region, cognitoUserPoolIdParameterName } from '../constants';
 
 export const getWebSocketApiStackProps = (stage: AppStage): WebSocketApiStackProps => {
   return {
@@ -9,5 +9,7 @@ export const getWebSocketApiStackProps = (stage: AppStage): WebSocketApiStackPro
     vpcProps: vpcProps,
     websocketApiEndpointParameterName: `/orcabus/client-websocket-api-endpoint`,
     websocketStageName: stage,
+    cognitoRegion: region,
+    cognitoUserPoolIdParameterName: cognitoUserPoolIdParameterName,
   };
 };
diff --git a/lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/deploy/index.ts b/lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/deploy/index.ts
index b46b3d629..cd079b65b 100644
--- a/lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/deploy/index.ts
+++ b/lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/deploy/index.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ import { Runtime, Architecture } from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-lambda';
 import { Construct } from 'constructs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import { StringParameter } from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-ssm';
+// import {
+//   WebSocketIamAuthorizer,
+//   WebSocketLambdaAuthorizer,
+//   WebSocketLambdaAuthorizerProps,
+// } from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-apigatewayv2-authorizers';
 
 export interface WebSocketApiStackProps extends StackProps {
   connectionTableName: string;
@@ -19,6 +24,10 @@ export interface WebSocketApiStackProps extends StackProps {
 
   websocketApiEndpointParameterName: string;
   websocketStageName: string;
+
+  // Cognito configuration for the authorizer
+  cognitoRegion: string;
+  cognitoUserPoolIdParameterName: string;
 }
 
 export class WebSocketApiStack extends Stack {
@@ -81,6 +90,23 @@ export class WebSocketApiStack extends Stack {
       timeout: Duration.minutes(2),
     });
 
+    const userPoolId = StringParameter.fromStringParameterName(
+      this,
+      'CognitoUserPoolIdParameter',
+      props.cognitoUserPoolIdParameterName
+    ).stringValue;
+
+    // authorizer function to check the client token based on the JWT token
+    const connectAuthorizer = this.createPythonFunction('connectAuthorizer', {
+      index: 'auth.py',
+      handler: 'lambda_handler',
+      timeout: Duration.minutes(2),
+      environment: {
+        COGNITO_REGION: props.cognitoRegion,
+        COGNITO_USER_POOL_ID: userPoolId,
+      },
+    });
+
     // Grant permissions to Lambda functions
     connectionTable.grantReadWriteData(connectHandler);
     connectionTable.grantReadWriteData(disconnectHandler);
@@ -93,6 +119,10 @@ export class WebSocketApiStack extends Stack {
       apiName: props.websocketApigatewayName,
       connectRouteOptions: {
         integration: new WebSocketLambdaIntegration('ConnectIntegration', connectHandler),
+        // authorizer: new WebSocketLambdaAuthorizer('ConnectAuthorizer', connectAuthorizer, {
+        //   authorizerName: 'ConnectAuthorizer',
+        //   identitySource: ['route.request.header.Authorization'],
+        // }),
       },
       disconnectRouteOptions: {
         integration: new WebSocketLambdaIntegration('DisconnectIntegration', disconnectHandler),
@@ -102,6 +132,7 @@ export class WebSocketApiStack extends Stack {
       },
     });
 
+    // Add a route for sending messages for sending messages to the client
     api.addRoute('sendMessage', {
       integration: new WebSocketLambdaIntegration('SendMessageIntegration', messageHandler),
     });
diff --git a/lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/deps/requirements.txt b/lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/deps/requirements.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f93f1f67b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/deps/requirements.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+PyJWT==2.8.0
+requests==2.31.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/lambda/auth.py b/lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/lambda/auth.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..76dc43757
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/workload/stateless/stacks/client-websocket-conn/lambda/auth.py
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import os
+import logging
+import jwt
+import requests
+from typing import Dict, Any
+
+logger = logging.getLogger()
+logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)
+
+# Get environment variables
+COGNITO_USER_POOL_ID = os.environ['COGNITO_USER_POOL_ID']
+COGNITO_REGION = os.environ.get('COGNITO_REGION', 'ap-southeast-2')
+
+def get_public_key():
+    """Get Cognito public key for JWT verification"""
+    url = f'https://cognito-idp.{COGNITO_REGION}.amazonaws.com/{COGNITO_USER_POOL_ID}/.well-known/jwks.json'
+    try:
+        response = requests.get(url)
+        return response.json()['keys'][0]  # Get the first key
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.error(f"Error getting public key: {str(e)}")
+        raise
+
+def handler(event: Dict[str, Any], context: Any) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Simple Lambda authorizer for WebSocket"""
+    logger.info("WebSocket authorization request")
+    
+    try:
+        # Get token from headers
+        token = event.get('headers', {}).get('Authorization', '').replace('Bearer ', '')
+        if not token:
+            raise Exception('No token provided')
+
+        # Get public key
+        public_key = get_public_key()
+        
+        # Verify token
+        decoded = jwt.decode(
+            token,
+            public_key,
+            algorithms=['RS256'],
+            issuer=f'https://cognito-idp.{COGNITO_REGION}.amazonaws.com/{COGNITO_USER_POOL_ID}'
+        )
+        
+        # Generate allow policy
+        return {
+            'principalId': decoded['sub'],
+            'policyDocument': {
+                'Version': '2012-10-17',
+                'Statement': [{
+                    'Action': 'execute-api:Invoke',
+                    'Effect': 'Allow',
+                    'Resource': event['methodArn']
+                }]
+            },
+            'context': {
+                'userId': decoded['sub']
+            }
+        }
+        
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.error(f"Authorization failed: {str(e)}")
+        # Return deny policy
+        return {
+            'principalId': 'unauthorized',
+            'policyDocument': {
+                'Version': '2012-10-17',
+                'Statement': [{
+                    'Action': 'execute-api:Invoke',
+                    'Effect': 'Deny',
+                    'Resource': event['methodArn']
+                }]
+            }
+        }
\ No newline at end of file