diff --git a/kafka.go b/kafka.go
index 7039ad6..20fb744 100644
--- a/kafka.go
+++ b/kafka.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 
 	trafficpb "github.com/akto-api-security/mirroring-api-logging/protobuf/traffic_payload"
 	"github.com/segmentio/kafka-go"
+	"github.com/segmentio/kafka-go/sasl/plain"
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
 )
 
@@ -29,12 +30,21 @@ var useTLS = false
 var InsecureSkipVerify = true
 var tlsCACertPath = "./ca.crt"
 
+var isAuthImplemented = false
+var kafkaUsername = ""
+var kafkaPassword = ""
+
 func init() {
 
 	InitVar("USE_TLS", &useTLS)
 	InitVar("INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY", &InsecureSkipVerify)
 	InitVar("TLS_CA_CERT_PATH", &tlsCACertPath)
 
+	// Initialize SASL authentication variables
+	InitVar("IS_AUTH_IMPLEMENTED", &isAuthImplemented)
+	InitVar("KAFKA_USERNAME", &kafkaUsername)
+	InitVar("KAFKA_PASSWORD", &kafkaPassword)
+
 }
 
 func Produce(kafkaWriter *kafka.Writer, ctx context.Context, value *trafficpb.HttpResponseParam) error {
@@ -132,12 +142,24 @@ func GetKafkaWriter(kafkaURL, topic string, batchSize int, batchTimeout time.Dur
 		Compression:  kafka.Zstd,
 	}
 
+	// Configure transport with TLS and/or SASL authentication
+	transport := &kafka.Transport{}
+
 	if useTLS {
 		tlsConfig, _ := NewTLSConfig(tlsCACertPath)
-		kafkaWriter.Transport = &kafka.Transport{
-			TLS: tlsConfig,
+		transport.TLS = tlsConfig
+	}
+
+	// Add SASL authentication if enabled
+	if isAuthImplemented && kafkaUsername != "" && kafkaPassword != "" {
+		slog.Info("Configuring SASL plain authentication", "username", kafkaUsername)
+		transport.SASL = plain.Mechanism{
+			Username: kafkaUsername,
+			Password: kafkaPassword,
 		}
 	}
+
+	kafkaWriter.Transport = transport
 	return &kafkaWriter
 }
 
@@ -152,13 +174,25 @@ func GetCredential(kafkaURL string, groupID string, topic string) Credential {
 		MaxBytes: 10e6, // 10MB
 	}
 
+	// Configure dialer with TLS and/or SASL authentication
+	dialer := &kafka.Dialer{}
+
 	if useTLS {
 		tlsConfig, _ := NewTLSConfig(tlsCACertPath)
-		config.Dialer = &kafka.Dialer{
-			TLS: tlsConfig,
+		dialer.TLS = tlsConfig
+	}
+
+	// Add SASL authentication if enabled
+	if isAuthImplemented && kafkaUsername != "" && kafkaPassword != "" {
+		slog.Info("Configuring SASL plain authentication for reader", "username", kafkaUsername)
+		dialer.SASLMechanism = plain.Mechanism{
+			Username: kafkaUsername,
+			Password: kafkaPassword,
 		}
 	}
 
+	config.Dialer = dialer
+
 	r := kafka.NewReader(config)
 
 	// Set up a context with a timeout