Overview: Kerberos is a network authentication protocol designed to provide secure communication in a distributed environment. It was developed at MIT and is widely used for authenticating users and services within networks.
Key Components:
Key Distribution Center (KDC): The central component of Kerberos that issues tickets for authentication. It consists of two parts:
Authentication Server (AS): Verifies user credentials and issues a Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT).
Ticket Granting Server (TGS): Issues service tickets based on the TGT for accessing specific services.
Tickets: Encrypted data that allows users to prove their identity without repeatedly sending passwords over the network. Users request a TGT from the AS, which they can then use to obtain service tickets from the TGS for accessing various services.
Security Features:
Mutual Authentication: Both the client and server authenticate each other, ensuring that sensitive information is only shared with legitimate parties.
Single Sign-On (SSO): Once authenticated, users can access multiple services without needing to log in again for each one.
Session Keys: Kerberos generates temporary session keys for secure communication between clients and servers, enhancing security by limiting the exposure of long-term keys.