Glossary of Data Communications TermsCourtesy Enterprise-Wide Computing, Inc. |
Term:
authentication
Definition: 1) ensuring that a message is genuine, has arrived exactly as it was sent and came from the stated source; 2) verifying the identity of an individual, such as a person at a remote terminal or the sender of a message. In OSI nomenclature, authentication refers to the certainty that the data received comes from the supposed origin; it is not extended to include the integrity of the data which are being transmitted. See also, data origin authentication and peer-entry authentication. Protection against fraudulent transactions by establishing the validity of messages, stations, individuals or originators. |