Authentication

Authentication (from Greek: αὐθεντικός authentikos, "real, genuine," from αὐθέντης authentes, "author") is the act of confirming the truth of an attribute of a single piece of data (a datum) claimed true by an entity.

Description

Authentication is the process of confirming an identity

For example, authentication t might involve:

• Confirming the identity of a person by validating their identity documents
• Verifying the authenticity of a website with a digital certificate
• Determining the age of an artifact by carbon dating
• Ensuring that a product is what its packaging and labeling claim to be

In other words, authentication often involves verifying the validity of at least one form of identification.

Identification

Identification refers to the act of stating or otherwise indicating a claim purportedly attesting to a person or thing's identity.

Authentication actually confirms, or authenticates, the claim.

See also

• Identification
• Security

External links

• Authentication @ Wikipedia