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Authentication involves determining whether a user is, in fact, who he or she claims to be. User authentication is critical to ensure proper authorization and access to systems and services. Authentication can be conducted through the use of logon passwords, single sign-on (SSO) systems, biometrics, digital certificates and a public key infrastructure (PKI). Terms you need to know when discussing authentication include knowledge-based authentication (KBA), two-factor authentication (2FA) and multi-factor authentication (MFA).