diff --git a/TShockAPI/ConfigFile.cs b/TShockAPI/ConfigFile.cs
index 82c67164..db5a6488 100644
--- a/TShockAPI/ConfigFile.cs
+++ b/TShockAPI/ConfigFile.cs
@@ -256,6 +256,11 @@ namespace TShockAPI
 		[Description("#.#.#. = Red/Blue/Green - RGB Colors for broadcasts. Max value: 255.")] public float[] BroadcastRGB = 
 		    {127,255,212};
 
+		// TODO: Get rid of this when the old REST permission model is removed.
+		[Description(
+			"Whether the REST API should use the new permission model. Note: The old permission model will become depracted in the future."
+			)] public bool RestUseNewPermissionModel = true;
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Reads a configuration file from a given path
         /// </summary>
diff --git a/TShockAPI/Rest/RestManager.cs b/TShockAPI/Rest/RestManager.cs
index ed7267a8..23f284bc 100644
--- a/TShockAPI/Rest/RestManager.cs
+++ b/TShockAPI/Rest/RestManager.cs
@@ -108,8 +108,15 @@ namespace TShockAPI
 		{
 			if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(parameters["cmd"]))
 				return RestMissingParam("cmd");
+
+			Group restPlayerGroup;
+			// TODO: Get rid of this when the old REST permission model is removed.
+			if (TShock.Config.RestUseNewPermissionModel)
+				restPlayerGroup = TShock.Groups.GetGroupByName(tokenData.UserGroupName);
+			else
+				restPlayerGroup = new SuperAdminGroup();
 
-			TSRestPlayer tr = new TSRestPlayer(tokenData.Username, TShock.Groups.GetGroupByName(tokenData.UserGroupName));
+			TSRestPlayer tr = new TSRestPlayer(tokenData.Username, restPlayerGroup);
 			Commands.HandleCommand(tr, parameters["cmd"]);
 			return RestResponse(string.Join("\n", tr.GetCommandOutput()));
 		}
@@ -119,7 +126,14 @@ namespace TShockAPI
 			if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(parameters["cmd"]))
 				return RestMissingParam("cmd");
 
-			TSRestPlayer tr = new TSRestPlayer(tokenData.Username, TShock.Groups.GetGroupByName(tokenData.UserGroupName));
+			Group restPlayerGroup;
+			// TODO: Get rid of this when the old REST permission model is removed.
+			if (TShock.Config.RestUseNewPermissionModel)
+				restPlayerGroup = TShock.Groups.GetGroupByName(tokenData.UserGroupName);
+			else
+				restPlayerGroup = new SuperAdminGroup();
+
+			TSRestPlayer tr = new TSRestPlayer(tokenData.Username, restPlayerGroup);
 			Commands.HandleCommand(tr, parameters["cmd"]);
 			return new RestObject()
 			{
diff --git a/TShockAPI/Rest/SecureRest.cs b/TShockAPI/Rest/SecureRest.cs
index 0c547138..cedeaafe 100644
--- a/TShockAPI/Rest/SecureRest.cs
+++ b/TShockAPI/Rest/SecureRest.cs
@@ -52,6 +52,29 @@ namespace Rests
 			{
 				Tokens.Add(t.Key, t.Value);
 			}
+
+			// TODO: Get rid of this when the old REST permission model is removed.
+			if (!TShock.Config.RestUseNewPermissionModel)
+			{
+				string warningMessage = string.Concat(
+					"You're using the old REST permission model which is highly vulnerable in matter of security. ",
+					"The old model will be removed with the next maintenance release of TShock. In order to switch to the new model, ",
+					"change the config setting \"RestUseNewPermissionModel\" to true."
+				);
+				Log.Warn(warningMessage);
+				Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Red;
+				Console.WriteLine(warningMessage);
+				Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Gray;
+			}
+			else
+			{
+				string warningMessage = string.Concat(
+					"You're using the new more secure REST permission model which can lead to compatibility problems ",
+					"with existing REST services. If compatibility problems occur, you can switch back to the unsecure permission ",
+					"model by changing the config setting \"RestUseNewPermissionModel\" to false, which is not recommended."
+				);
+				Log.ConsoleInfo(warningMessage);
+			}
 		}
 
 		private object DestroyToken(RestVerbs verbs, IParameterCollection parameters, SecureRest.TokenData tokenData)
@@ -144,21 +167,24 @@ namespace Rests
 				return new RestObject("403")
 				{ Error = "Not authorized. The specified API endpoint requires a token, but the provided token was not valid." };
 
-			Group userGroup = TShock.Groups.GetGroupByName(tokenData.UserGroupName);
-			if (userGroup == null)
-			{
-				Tokens.Remove(token);
+			// TODO: Get rid of this when the old REST permission model is removed.
+			if (TShock.Config.RestUseNewPermissionModel) {
+				Group userGroup = TShock.Groups.GetGroupByName(tokenData.UserGroupName);
+				if (userGroup == null)
+				{
+					Tokens.Remove(token);
 
-				return new RestObject("403")
-				{ Error = "Not authorized. The provided token became invalid due to group changes, please create a new token." };
+					return new RestObject("403")
+					{ Error = "Not authorized. The provided token became invalid due to group changes, please create a new token." };
+				}
+
+				if (secureCmd.Permissions.Length > 0 && secureCmd.Permissions.All(perm => !userGroup.HasPermission(perm)))
+				{
+					return new RestObject("403")
+					{ Error = string.Format("Not authorized. User \"{0}\" has no access to use the specified API endpoint.", tokenData.Username) };
+				}
 			}
 
-			if (secureCmd.Permissions.Length > 0 && secureCmd.Permissions.All(perm => !userGroup.HasPermission(perm)))
-			{
-				return new RestObject("403")
-				{ Error = string.Format("Not authorized. User \"{0}\" has no access to use the specified API endpoint.", tokenData.Username) };
-			}
-			
 			object result = secureCmd.Execute(verbs, parms, tokenData);
 			if (cmd.DoLog)
 				TShock.Utils.SendLogs(string.Format(