IBM WebSphere V5.0 Security - CGISecurity

2.2 Security fundamentals2.2.1 AuthenticationThis section will discuss two fundamental security services also supported byWebSphere Application Server:► Authentication► AuthorizationAuthentication is the process of establishing whether a client is valid in aparticular context. A client can be either an end user, a machine or anapplication.Definition: A realm is a collection of users that are controlled by the sameauthentication policy.The authentication process involves gathering some unique information from theclient.There are three major groups of secure authentication used to gather this uniqueinformation:► Knowledge-based - user name and password, for example.► Key-based - physical keys, encryption keys, key cards.► Biometric - finger prints, voice patterns or DNA.Other authentication mechanisms can combine these; an example is digitalcertificates, where key-based and knowledge-based authentication areexercised.8 IBM WebSphere V5.0 Security Handbook