What are the fundamental methods of authentication?
Biometrics “Who I am” Biometrics uses nature’s oldest system to identify people — via unforgettable and unchanging physical characteristics. From time immemorial, humans have had to perform recognition tasks themselves. Today, technology is advanced enough to assist us or even relieve us of recognition tasks. Secret Knowledge “What I know” Here authentication takes the form of secret PINs and passwords, which the user has to keep track of. The person to be authenticated has to share the secret knowledge with the authenticator. Previously, this was the simplest method of authentication for machines. Secret knowledge can be applied also where several persons have to be authenticated in a simple way without distinction. Personal Possession “What I have” Examples for authentication are having a key, ID card, passport (with or without a chip), or more generally a token, which allows entrance, for example, into a private room. Essential for this method is the existence of secret features wh
