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Cybersecurity vocabulary · Authentication and Access Control

Authentication

Meaning in cybersecurity, with examples

/ɔːˌθentɪˈkeɪʃən/nounCore term

In cybersecurity, authentication means: The process of checking that a user, device or system really is who or what it claims to be, for example with a password, a code or a fingerprint.

In Turkish: kimlik doğrulama

How it is used

A core word in identity and access discussions. A user authenticates, a login fails authentication, or a system uses certificate-based authentication. In technical writing it is often shortened to 'authN', especially next to 'authZ' for authorization.

Example sentences

  1. The API rejects any request that fails authentication.

  2. We are moving the admin portal to certificate-based authentication.

Common collocations

  • user authentication
  • fail authentication
  • strong authentication
  • certificate-based authentication
  • authentication method
  • authorizationThe process of deciding what an authenticated user or system is allowed to do, such as which files they can read or which actions they can perform.
  • multi-factor authenticationA login method that asks for two or more different kinds of proof, such as a password plus a code from a phone, before granting access.
  • passwordA secret string of characters that a person types to prove their identity and log in to an account, device or system.
  • credentialsThe details that prove who a user is and let them log in, most often a username and password, but also keys, tokens and certificates.
  • single sign-onA login system that lets a user sign in once with one set of credentials and then use many different applications without logging in again.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Authentication and Access Control

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