[cap-talk] Definition of Authentication on wiki.erights.org

[Rob Meijer]

The list has been quiet lately, unfortunately some interesting discussions
seem to have died out prematurely. One of them is I feel an essential one,
that of the definition of authentication.

As I stated in the discussion earlier, I feel that the definition in
http://wiki.erights.org/wiki/Authentication (1) is overly complicating to
explain, and quite possibly wrong.

In any case I've been using an alternative definition in talks I've been
giving, that I stated earlier in the died off discussion.

I have been thinking about a clearer wording for the definition I have
been using, and would like to suggest an alternative definition (2).

1) "Given one end of a communication channel, an authentication procedure
    establishes which principal is probably at the other end."

2) "Authentication is the validation of a specific property of an object,
    where this property must either be a source of authority, a source of
    accountability, or both."

I personally feel that 1 is to far detached from every day usage of the
word, is to much centered around use by the identity based mechanisms, and
is complicating something quit simple by doing so. Am I the only one who
sees a problem with 1? And whatever the answer to that, is 2 a good
definition?

Rob