Authentication vs Authorization: How are They Different?

Authentication vs. Authorization—these two terms are often confused, but they actually refer to different concepts. It's important to grasp the disparities between these two to safeguard information and effectively manage access rights. In this article, we'll look into these differences and underscore why both play roles in upholding strong security measures.

So without delay, let's get started!

What is Authentication?

Authentication involves verifying the identity of a user or device before granting entry to a system. Like presenting your ID for access to a building, authentication serves as a barrier to ensure that only legitimate users can engage with your digital assets.

While authentication traditionally revolved around login credentials (like usernames and passwords), it has now advanced to encompass more sophisticated techniques. Nowadays, user authentication includes one-time tokens, biometric scans (such as fingerprints or facial recognition), and multi-factor authentication (MFA) that combine something you know (password), something you possess (security token), and something you are (biometrics).

A strong identity verification process deters potential attackers by making it harder for them to bypass it. It also tracks user actions and identifies potential security breaches.

Types of Authentication Methods

Authentication methods can be classified into different categories, each providing different levels of secure access and user convenience:

Single-Factor Authentication (SFA): Over the years, passwords have served as our defense against entry. SFA relies on a piece of information – something you know, like a password or PIN. While easy to set up, SFA is considered secure as it depends on the strength of the password, which can be susceptible to attacks.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): To add a layer of security, 2FA requires users to provide two forms of identification before gaining access to a system. For instance, a password paired with a one-time code sent via SMS is a practice. This setup decreases the likelihood of access since an attacker would need both pieces of information.
Biometric Authentication: This method utilizes traits such as fingerprints, facial recognition, or iris scans to verify one's identity. The advantage is evident; it's convenient (your biometric data is always with you) and challenging to replicate. However, there are concerns about privacy when it comes to biometrics as they are not foolproof. Some facial recognition systems can be tricked by a high-quality photo.
Token-Based Authentication: Tokens are credentials that allow access to a system for a duration. They can be physical, such as security fobs, or digital, like software tokens. Token-based authentication is often combined with methods to boost security.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Going beyond 2FA, MFA tackles most authentication weaknesses by incorporating layers of verification. For instance, a user may be required to input a password, provide a fingerprint scan, and still use a security token. While MFA offers top-notch security, it also brings added complexity and inconvenience for users.

Common Authentication Protocols

To implement the above methods effectively, you need to use standardized authentication protocols. These protocols define the procedures for verifying user identities and provide a framework for secure authentication standards across different systems and platforms.

OAuth (Open Authorization): Primarily an authorization framework, OAuth grants access to protected resources on behalf of a user without sharing their credentials. It's widely used for enabling social logins on various websites, like logging into a website using your Google account.
SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language): SAML is an XML-based protocol used for exchanging authentication and authorization data between parties, particularly in enterprise environments. It's often used for single sign-on (SSO) and federated identity management, where users can access multiple systems with one set of credentials.
OpenID Connect: Built on top of OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect is an authentication layer that verifies user identity while also providing authorization capabilities. It allows clients to verify the identity of the end-user based on an authentication performed by an authorization server.

Using standardized authentication protocols enhances security by ensuring that authentication standards are consistent and resistant to vulnerabilities across different platforms.

What is Authorization?

While authentication verifies who you are, authorization determines what you can do once your identity is confirmed.

Authorization is a process of granting or denying a user or device access to specific resources, such as files, databases, or network segments. It’s based on predefined rules, roles, and user permissions, and it’s an effective method of resource management.

For example, in a corporate environment, an employee might be authenticated to log into the company network, but their authorization level determines whether they can access confidential HR files or modify system settings.

The importance of having a good authorization process lies in its ability to protect sensitive data and resources from unauthorized access. By implementing effective authorization measures, organizations can enforce access control that align with their security policies and regulatory requirements.

Types of Authorization Models

There are three main authorization models:

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): RBAC assigns permissions to users based on their roles within an organization. It simply ensures an employee with a "manager" role will have access to more resources and actions than someone with a "staff" role. RBAC simplifies management by grouping user permissions, but it can become rigid in complex environments where roles are not easily defined.
Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC): ABAC allows for more granular access control by considering various attributes (e.g., user identity, resource type, location, time) when making access decisions. This model offers flexibility and is ideal for environments with dynamic access requirements, though it can be complex to implement and manage.
Discretionary Access Control (DAC): With DAC, resource owners have the discretion to decide who can access their resources. DAC is commonly used in systems where users need to share files or data with specific individuals, like some social media platforms, where users have control over who can view, comment on, or share their posts and content. While DAC offers ease of use, it can lead to security risks if permissions are not carefully managed.

Common Authorization Protocols

Just as with authentication, there are standardized protocols that help manage authorization:

OAuth: OAuth not only handles authentication but also includes authorization capabilities. It provides a standardized way to delegate access, supports different authorization flows for various scenarios, and is widely adopted across web and mobile applications.
JSON Web Tokens (JWT): JWTs are compact, URL-safe tokens that encode claims about the user and their permissions, and they’re a standard for securely transmitting information between parties as a JSON object. They are often used for stateless authorization, where information about the user is self-contained within the token. JWTs are most popular in API-based architectures.
Access Control Lists (ACLs): ACLs are a more traditional method for managing permissions that explicitly define which users or groups have access to specific resources and the allowed operations (read, write, execute). ACLs are widely used in file systems and network security to enforce fine-grained access control.

Choosing the right authorization protocol depends on the specific requirements of the system, including security needs, scalability, and ease of management.

Key Differences Between Authentication and Authorization

As you’ve seen, authentication and authorization are closely related, heck, they even share the same protocols. However, they both have key security differences in securing your applications.

Authentication is about verifying identity, and ensuring that the person or device trying to gain access is who they claim to be. Authorization, on the other hand, determines what actions that authenticated user or device is allowed to perform. It’s simply a case of identity vs access.

Confusing authentication with authorization can have serious security implications. If a system only relies on authentication, anyone who successfully logs in could potentially access all data and functions, regardless of their role or permissions. This will lead to data breaches, unauthorized modifications, and system compromise.

To ensure optimal security, you need to ditch the authentication vs authorization debate and understand that both authentication and authorization must work in tandem.

Why Authentication and Authorization are Often Confused

The confusion between authentication and authorization is largely due to how similar their processes are.

Both are important for controlling access to a system and use similar security terminology, which leads to common misconceptions. The underlying concepts are very intricate, so it’s usually challenging for non-technical individuals to grasp the distinction.

This confusion has significant implications for security practices and policy development. Some organizations prioritize strong authentication methods while neglecting authorization controls, leaving systems vulnerable and leading to unauthorized access and data breaches.

To prevent the authentication and authorization confusion, you have to:

Use Clear and Consistent Terminology: Establish clear definitions for both terms within your organization and use them consistently in documentation, training, and communication.
Educational Initiatives: Conduct training sessions to educate employees about the difference between the two concepts and their importance in security.
Distinct Processes: Implement separate and clearly distinct processes for authentication and authorization, ensuring they are clearly defined and managed independently.
Role-Based Training: Tailor training to specific roles within the organization, emphasizing the relevance of both authentication and authorization to their responsibilities.
Regular Reviews: Conduct periodic reviews of security policies and procedures to ensure the correct use of terminology and alignment with security best practices.

Real-World Scenarios Demonstrating the Differences

Now that you understand the distinction between authentication and authorization, let’s look at some practical examples of authentication and authorization in action.

Online Banking: Logging into an online banking system requires entering your username and password, which is authentication. Once logged in and authenticated, your ability to view account balances, transfer money, or pay bills is determined by authorization. The bank staff also has to be authenticated when logging into the same system, but they’ll have more access to the bank's resources than you based on their authorization.
Enterprise Access Management: Another example would be large enterprise organizations or high-level government offices. In large organizations like these, employees undergo authentication through methods like smart cards or biometric scans. Authorization then determines which systems, data, and applications they can access based on their roles and responsibilities. This double-stacked protection ensures that only authorized personnel can view sensitive information, protecting intellectual property and preventing data leaks.
Cloud Services: Cloud platforms like Google Drive or Dropbox require users to authenticate with credentials. After getting authenticated, authorization rules dictate which files users can access, edit, or share. For instance, when you share a Google Docs file, you can decide if the person you’re sending it to is a viewer, commentator, or editor. It’s this granular control that safeguards user data and prevents unauthorized modification or deletion.

In each of these security scenarios, the combination of authentication and carefully defined authorization enhances security by preventing unauthorized access and protecting sensitive information. Additionally, it improves user experience by providing access only to relevant functions and data.

Best Practices for Implementing Authentication and Authorization

Secure implementation of strong authentication and authorization systems helps protect sensitive information and ensures that users can only access what they are permitted to. It’s not easy to create the perfect hackproof system, but here are a few security best practices, that can help you minimize risks and enhance user trust.

Use Strong Authentication Methods: Choosing the right authentication method is the key to properly protecting your system. For systems requiring high security, consider biometric methods or MFA wherever possible to add an extra layer of security.
Least Privilege Principle: When you use the least leverage principle, you grant users only the minimum permissions necessary to perform their tasks, thus limiting potential damage in case of unauthorized access.
Select the Right Authorization Model: The choice of authorization model should align with the organization’s security needs and operational complexity. For most organizations with well-defined roles and responsibilities, RBAC can be used to assign permissions based on user roles. For more dynamic and complex environments, ABAC allows for more granular control over who can access what.
Regular Security Audits: Conduct thorough security audits to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in authentication and authorization systems.
Educate and Train Users: A strong security system is only as effective as the people who use it. You need to implement regular training sessions to educate users about the importance of secure passwords, recognizing phishing attempts, and understanding the significance of authentication and authorization.

With these authentication and authorization tips, you can effectively implement a safe and secure system that keeps your data safe and inspires trust in your users.

Combining Authentication and Authorization for Maximum Security

Most top organizations worldwide use a layered security approach, also known as defense in depth, to ensure maximum integrated security for their systems. In most cases, this simply means combining authentication and authorization together.

Layered Security makes it significantly harder for attackers to breach a system because it combines different methods of authentication and authorization, creating multiple layers of defense that address various types of threats. This strategy ensures that even if one layer is breached, others are in place to mitigate the risk.

In cloud environments, where resources are distributed and accessed remotely, it is essential to combine strong authentication with granular authorization controls. For example, a cloud administrator may authenticate using MFA, and their authorization level might allow them to manage virtual machines, storage, and network settings. Meanwhile, other users might have limited access, only to the applications or data they need for their roles.

The same principle can be applied in large organizations that support a wide variety of users with different roles and access needs. Integrating authentication with authorization in these places will help maintain a secure and organized system. Employees can simply authenticate to the network using their credentials, and based on their authorization levels, they are granted access to specific areas of the network, such as internal databases, email systems, or customer records.

Controlling access at multiple levels will protect sensitive information and prevent internal data leaks or accidental breaches.

Build Your Authorization System Fast Without Extra Engineering Resources with Permify

If you want to set up world-class authorization for your organization without spending extra resources on engineering, you need to get started with Permify today.

Permify is an open-source authorization platform designed to simplify the creation and management of fine-grained and scalable authorization systems. Inspired by Google's Zanzibar, Permify lets you quickly implement complex access control logic without the overhead of building it from scratch.

Permify is built to be highly flexible, and supports various authorization models like Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC), and more. It integrates seamlessly with your existing tech stack, making it easy to implement and manage authorization without the need for specialized engineering teams.

How to Get Started with Permify

Getting started with Permify is straightforward, and we’ve designed the process to be as user-friendly as possible, even for non-technical users. Here’s a quick guide on how to begin:

Sign Up for Permify: Visit the Permify website and sign up for an account. We offer various pricing plans, including a free tier for small projects or initial testing.
Set Up Your Environment: After signing up, you can set up your environment by integrating Permify with your existing systems. We provide comprehensive documentation and guides to help you connect your application through our API.
Define Roles and Permissions: Start by defining the roles and permissions within your organization. With our intuitive dashboard, you can create roles, assign permissions, and establish access policies that align with your security requirements.
Integrate with Your Application: Our API lets you integrate the authorization logic into your application by embedding API calls that check permissions before allowing access to certain resources or actions.
Test and Deploy: Before going live, thoroughly test your authorization setup to ensure that it behaves as expected under various scenarios. Once you’re confident in your configuration, deploy it to your production environment.
Monitor and Adjust: After deployment, you can use monitoring tools to track access patterns and adjust permissions or roles as needed. Remember to regularly review and update your access controls to align with changing business needs.

Conclusion

Permify provides a powerful, flexible, and easy-to-use solution for managing authorization in your applications without requiring extensive engineering resources.

Whether you're a startup looking to implement basic access controls or a large enterprise needing a scalable authorization solution, we have all the tools and support to get you up and running fast.