Overview#
Verifying that a user or system is who they claim to be. Common methods include passwords, multifactor authentication, certificates, and hardware tokens.
Core objectives#
- Establish shared definitions of Authentication for security, engineering, and leadership teams.
- Connect Authentication activities to measurable risk reduction and resilience goals.
- Provide onboarding notes so new team members can quickly understand how Authentication works here.
Implementation notes#
- Identify the primary owner for Authentication, the data sources involved, and the systems affected.
- Document the minimum viable process, tooling, and runbooks that keep Authentication healthy.
- Map Authentication practices to standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, NIST CSF, or CIS Controls.
Operational signals#
- Leading indicators: early warnings that Authentication might degrade (e.g., backlog growth, noisy alerts, or missed SLAs).
- Lagging indicators: realized impact that shows Authentication failed or needs investment (e.g., incidents, audit findings).
- Feedback loops: retrospectives and metrics reviews that tune Authentication continuously.
Related practices#
- Align Authentication with defense-in-depth planning, threat modeling, and disaster recovery tests.
- Communicate updates to stakeholders through concise briefs, dashboards, and internal FAQs.
- Pair Authentication improvements with tabletop exercises to validate expectations.