10. Authentication of People
In the previous chapter we discussed in general how a computer authenticates a computer across a network. This chapter deals with the special issues involved when a computer is authenticating a human. We use the terms user and human interchangeably. This chapter deals with password-related issues like how to force users to choose unguessable passwords, how to store password information securely at the system being logged into, and how to avoid divulging information to eavesdroppers.
Authentication is done somewhat differently depending on the capabilities of the thing being authenticated. The two most important capabilities are the ability to store a high-quality cryptographic key and the ability to perform cryptographic ...
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