User:Elongenecker/sandbox

Identification, Authentication and Authorization are an important part of verification of users, either on the internet or in person. As the internet is accessed through a computer or mobile phone there are a lot of times that it is necessary to verify the identity of an individual. This can be helpful when a person is trying to log into their bank account or other account that is unique to an individual. In order to verify the identity of the user of the computer or mobile phone there are three ways to do that, Identification, Authentication and Authorization. Below is a description of each of these methods are and some examples of each.

Identification
Identification is the act of stating that you are the person. On the internet it would be stating that you are the person using the account, in person it would be the act of stating your name to identify yourself. While this is most commonly used as the user name on the internet. It can be the simple act of answering the phone and saying "Hello, this is. . .". These are all types of identification.

An example of identification may be an email address or an alias. These are usually determined by the user that is using the site on the internet, but the qualifications for the identification are made by the owner of the site. Some sites require that a username is an email address, while others allow the user to create their own individual user name. They could assign a nickname as their username or they could use their real name.

Authentication
Authentication is the process of proving you are the person you claim to be in the identity stage. Authentication can be in a variety of forms, it can be “something you know”, “something you have” or “something you are”.

“Something you know” is most common in the form of a password. It can also be a security question such as “where were you born”, “what is your mom’s maiden name”. This proves you are the person you are claiming by verifying information that you know.

Another form of authentication is “something you have” this can be in the form of an RSA token, a physical proof of identity (i.e. driver’s license or passport) or a text message to a phone that you have proven you own.

“Something you are” is a form of authentication known as biometrics. This can be used as a thumb print or a retina scan. This is the most secure form of authentication in that it would be difficult for someone other than the user be able to pass this.

Authorization
Authorization typically is the last step of this phase. This is the piece that allows certain permissions based on the identity and authentication steps previously discussed.

An example of authorization can be in regards to an online email account. Once a user has identified and authenticated their account with a password, the user is able to see, send and delete emails in their online email account. The authorization is usually given to them by the website holder and is determined based on the information previously given.

Summary
In conclusion there are many examples of instances when identify, authentication and authorization will come into play in daily lives. This process can happen online or offline, although most commonly thought of online it also very common offline