credentials

Credentials are evidence that a person or entity is who they claim to be, or that they possess a certain qualification or authority. They can be physical documents, such as a passport, driver’s license, academic degree, or professional license, or digital artifacts, such as a password, security token, digital certificate, or API key. In many contexts, credentials enable access to services, systems, or physical spaces and may also confer formal authority to act.

Types of credentials include: personal credentials (identifiers like usernames and passwords), digital credentials (tokens, API keys, digital certificates, and cryptographic keys), and professional or educational credentials (licenses, certifications, degrees, diplomas). Digital credentials are commonly issued and managed by trusted authorities such as service providers, certificate authorities, licensing boards, or educational institutions.

Issuance and management involve verification by a trusted issuer, assignment of appropriate privileges, and ongoing maintenance. Digital credentials often have expiration dates and revocation mechanisms. Secure storage and handling are essential, with approaches ranging from password managers and hardware security modules to secure vaults that support policy-based rotation and revocation.

Security considerations are central to credential use. Compromised credentials enable unauthorized access and can lead to data breaches. Common threats include phishing, credential stuffing, and brute-force attacks. Mitigations emphasize multi-factor authentication, strong unique passwords, hardware authentication devices, regular credential rotation, least-privilege access, and monitoring for anomalous use. Society relies on credentialing systems for professional licensure, credential verification, and trusted identities across digital and physical domains.