diff --git a/src/middleware/authCheck.js b/src/middleware/authCheck.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4660673
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/middleware/authCheck.js
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+// middleware/authCheck.js
+const fetch = require("node-fetch");
+
+const VERIFY_URL = process.env.AUTH_VERIFY;
+const CACHE_TTL = parseInt(process.env.AUTH_CACHE_TTL) || 120000; // 2 minutes default
+
+// Simple in-memory cache
+const authCache = new Map();
+
+// Helper to generate cache key
+function getCacheKey(cookie, authHeader) {
+  return `${cookie}:${authHeader}`;
+}
+
+// Helper to check if cache entry is valid
+function isCacheValid(entry) {
+  return entry && Date.now() - entry.timestamp < CACHE_TTL;
+}
+
+// Clean expired cache entries periodically
+setInterval(() => {
+  const now = Date.now();
+  for (const [key, entry] of authCache.entries()) {
+    if (now - entry.timestamp >= CACHE_TTL) {
+      authCache.delete(key);
+    }
+  }
+}, CACHE_TTL); // Clean up when entries would expire
+
+module.exports = async (req, res, next) => {
+  const cookie = req.headers["cookie"] || "";
+  const authHeader = req.headers["authorization"] || "";
+  const cacheKey = getCacheKey(cookie, authHeader);
+
+  // Check cache first
+  const cached = authCache.get(cacheKey);
+  if (isCacheValid(cached)) {
+    req.isAuthenticated = cached.isAuthenticated;
+    return next();
+  }
+
+  // Default to unauthenticated
+  req.isAuthenticated = false;
+
+  try {
+    const controller = new AbortController();
+    const timeout = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 5000); // 5 second timeout
+
+    const resVerify = await fetch(VERIFY_URL, {
+      headers: {
+        cookie,
+        authorization: authHeader,
+      },
+      credentials: "include",
+      signal: controller.signal,
+    });
+
+    clearTimeout(timeout);
+
+    const isAuthenticated = resVerify.status === 200;
+
+    // Cache the result
+    authCache.set(cacheKey, {
+      isAuthenticated,
+      timestamp: Date.now(),
+    });
+
+    req.isAuthenticated = isAuthenticated;
+  } catch (err) {
+    // Auth server down/timeout - silently fail, don't crash the app
+    req.isAuthenticated = false;
+
+    // Optional: Log for debugging, but don't spam logs
+    if (req.log) {
+      req.log.warn(
+        "[AuthCheck] Auth server unavailable, continuing unauthenticated"
+      );
+    } else {
+      console.warn(
+        "[AuthCheck] Auth server unavailable, continuing unauthenticated"
+      );
+    }
+  }
+
+  next();
+};
diff --git a/src/middleware/index.js b/src/middleware/index.js
index 2cd52b9..ebce2ee 100644
--- a/src/middleware/index.js
+++ b/src/middleware/index.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 const errorHandler = require("./errorHandler");
 const baseContext = require("./baseContext");
 const hbs = require("./hbs");
-const authentication = require("./authentication.js");
+const authCheck = require("./authCheck");
 
 const {
   loggingMiddleware,
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 
 function setupApp() {
   const app = express();
-  const excludedPaths = ['/contact', '/analytics', '/track'];
+  const excludedPaths = ["/contact", "/analytics", "/track"];
   const DATA_LIMIT_BYTES = 10 * 1024; // 10k
 
   // General parsers for non-excluded routes
@@ -30,18 +30,22 @@
     if (excludedPaths.includes(req.path)) return next();
     express.json({ limit: DATA_LIMIT_BYTES })(req, res, (err) => {
       if (err) return next(err);
-      express.urlencoded({ extended: false, limit: DATA_LIMIT_BYTES })(req, res, next);
+      express.urlencoded({ extended: false, limit: DATA_LIMIT_BYTES })(
+        req,
+        res,
+        next
+      );
     });
   });
 
   // Raw parser + manual truncation for excluded routes
-  const rawBodyParser = express.raw({ type: '*/*', limit: '100kb' });
+  const rawBodyParser = express.raw({ type: "*/*", limit: "100kb" });
   app.use((req, res, next) => {
     if (!excludedPaths.includes(req.path)) return next();
     rawBodyParser(req, res, (err) => {
       if (err) return next(err);
       try {
-        const raw = req.body.toString('utf8');
+        const raw = req.body.toString("utf8");
         const truncated = raw.slice(0, DATA_LIMIT_BYTES);
         req.body = JSON.parse(truncated);
       } catch (e) {
@@ -51,17 +55,15 @@
     });
   });
 
-
-  
   app.use(hbs);
 
   // Setup logging
   app.use(logEvent, morganInfo, morganWarn, morganError, loggingMiddleware);
 
-  app.use(authentication);
-  
+  app.use(authCheck);
+
   // Setup handlebars
-  app.use(baseContext)
+  app.use(baseContext);
 
   // Setup production environment
   if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "production") {