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

• Security

External links

• Authentication @ Wikipedia