Authentication

<p>Authentication  is the act of proving an <a href="/facts/Logical_assertion/CwJwURfm">assertion</a>, such as the <a href="/facts/Digital_identity/HWIe84hG">identity</a> of a computer system user. In contrast with <a href="/facts/Identification/7BMoHyNu">identification</a>, the act of indicating a person or thing's identity, authentication is the process of verifying that identity.
</p><p>Authentication is relevant to multiple fields. In <a href="/facts/Art/ILbnQHHb">art</a>, <a href="/facts/Antique/NnTklacs">antiques</a>, and <a href="/facts/Anthropology/W6WK1C3a">anthropology</a>, a common problem is verifying that a given artifact was produced by a certain person, or in a certain place (i.e. to assert that it is not <a href="/facts/Counterfeit/MaYRLckY">counterfeit</a>), or in a given period of history (e.g. by determining the age via <a href="/facts/Carbon_dating/qjNglhKP">carbon dating</a>). In <a href="/facts/Computer_science/lN3pEyPz">computer science</a>, verifying a user's identity is often required to allow access to confidential data or systems. It might involve validating personal <a href="/facts/Identity_document/YovHMC8K">identity documents</a>.
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Authentication open-in-new

Authentication