Authentication is the process of determining whether
someone or something is, in fact, who or what it is declared
to be. In private and public computer networks (including
the Internet), authentication is commonly done through the
use of logon passwords. Knowledge of the password is assumed
to guarantee that the user is authentic.
Each user registers initially (or is registered by
someone else), using an assigned or self-declared password.
On each subsequent use, the user must know and use the
previously declared password. The weakness in this system
for transactions that are significant (such as the exchange
of money) is that passwords can often be stolen,
accidentally revealed, or forgotten.
For this reason, Internet business and many other
transactions require a more stringent authentication
process. The use of digital certificates issued and verified
by a Certificate Authority (CA) as part of a public key
infrastructure is considered likely to become the standard
way to perform authentication on the Internet.
Logically, authentication precedes authorization (although
they may often seem to be combined).
PeopleSoft has several methods of authentication. Directory
Authentication, local auth, single signon auth, signon
peoplecode auth etc..
