The Two Invisible Security Guards Behind Every Login…
Understanding Authentication and Authorization with a Real Banking Example
Imagine its salary day, we open our banking app to check our account balance, immediately we’ll enter our username, password, receives an otp then the dashboard appears, everything feels simple…….
But have you wondered what really happens at backend before you access your account?
Behind this 2 powerful mechanism are working together Authentication &Authorization
For clear understanding, we will move with an example….
Vicky opens his banking app and enter his username and password…
can the application trust vicky immediately? …..NO…..The app needs to verifies his identity
Authentication is nothing but verifies user identity, In this example, app will verifies vicky’s username,password,and otp before he enters into the app…simply Authentication defines who are you?
Definition: Process of verifying the identity of a user before granting access to a system.
Now vicky successfully logs in, now he can
1.View balance
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2.Transfer money
can vicky see your account……No
can vicky approve a loan……No
can vicky create another bank account…..No
Although vicky is authenticated ,but he cant access above things because the app checks what he is allowed to access. This phase is called Authorization
Definition: Authorization is the process of determining what resources a verified user is permitted to access.
every secure applications from Banking application,social media platform,hospital system,company portal relies on authentication & authorization
Authentication verifies who you are?
Authorization verifies what you can do?
Security isn’t just about creating strong passwords or protecting data. It’s about ensuring that the right person gets access to the right information at the right time. Authentication confirms who we are, while Authorization defines what we are allowed to do. Together, they form the foundation of every secure digital application we use today.
Thank you for reading!
I hope this blog helped simplify the concepts of Authentication and Authorization. Looking forward to exploring more technology, one concept at a time.
