===== User Authentication =====
[[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:start| Return to Glossary ]]

**User Authentication**  verifies the identity of a user attempting to gain access to a network or computing resource by authorizing a human-to-machine transfer of credentials during interactions on a network to confirm a user's authenticity. The term contrasts with [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:m:machine_authentication]], which is an automated authentication method that does not require user input.

[[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:a:authentication]] helps ensure only authorized users can gain access to a system by preventing unauthorized users from gaining access and potentially damaging systems, stealing information, or causing other problems. Almost all human-to-computer interactions -- other than guest and automatically logged-in accounts -- perform user authentication. It authorizes access on both wired and [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:w:wireless|wireless networks]] to enable access to networked and [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:i:internet|internet]]-connected systems and resources.

A straightforward process, user authentication consists of three tasks:

  - [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:i:identification|Identification]]. Users have to prove who they are.
  - Authentication. Users have to prove they are who they say they are.
  - Authorization. Users have to prove they're allowed to do what they are trying to do.

User authentication can be as simple as requiring a user to type a [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:u:unique_identifier|unique identifier]], such as a user ID, along with a [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:p:password]] to access a system. It can also be more complex, however -- for example, requiring a user to provide information about physical objects or the environment or even take actions, such as placing a finger on a fingerprint reader.


Source: [[https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/user-authentication]]


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