autenticar

Autenticar is a verb used in Spanish and Portuguese meaning to verify the identity of a person or entity, or to establish trust in a claimed identity. In computing and information security, authentication is the process of proving identity to a system. The term is often contrasted with authorization, which determines what an authenticated user is allowed to do.

Etymology: authentĭcus meaning genuine, through French authentic and into Portuguese and Spanish, reflecting the sense of establishing genuineness.

In practice, authentication relies on factors. Common categories are something the user knows (password or PIN), something the user possesses (security token or device), and something the user is (biometrics). Multi-factor authentication combines factors to reduce risk. Digital authentication uses mechanisms such as hashed and salted passwords, time-based one-time passwords, and biometric data.

Network and web systems use standards like OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, SAML, and PKI-based certificates to convey trust about a user or device. Authentication can occur locally on a device or remotely via a server, and can enable single sign-on across services.

Security considerations include phishing, credential stuffing, replay attacks, and man-in-the-middle threats. Protecting authentication traffic with TLS, securing credential storage, and following least-privilege principles are common practices. Privacy regulations such as GDPR influence how biometric or identity data is collected and processed. Best practices emphasize MFA, strong password policies, device trust, and routine credential management. In legal and document contexts, authenticating a signature or document also denotes establishing its genuineness, not only user verification.