Introduction

Authentication and authorization are the foundation of secure applications. Before diving into Prefactor specifically, let’s go over some of the fundamental concepts.

This section covers the essential building blocks of authentication and authorization:

• What is authentication and authorization? - What authentication and authorization are and why they matter
• Authentication methods and factors - The building blocks of authentication
• User identity and accounts - How users are represented in systems
• Authentication flows and sessions - The process of authentication
• OAuth and OpenID Connect - The standards Prefactor implements

Each topic builds on the previous ones, so we recommend reading through them in order if you’re new to authentication and authorization concepts.