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Topic · part of Security
Authentication & Authorization.
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01

What is the difference between Authentication and Authorization?

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Authentication is the process of verifying who a user is, while authorization determines what that authenticated user is allowed to do.

  • Authentication answers "Who are you?" - It's about identity verification
  • Authorization answers "What can you do?" - It's about permissions and access control
    Example:
    When you log into your email account:
  • Authentication: Entering your username/password proves you are the account owner
  • Authorization: The system then determines if you can read emails, send emails, access admin settings, etc.
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02

What are the main types of authentication factors?

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Authentication factors are categorized into three main types:

  1. Something you know (Knowledge factors)
    • Passwords, PINs, security questions
  2. Something you have (Possession factors)
    • Smartphones, hardware tokens, smart cards
  3. Something you are (Inherence factors)
    • Biometrics: fingerprints, facial recognition, retina scans
      Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) combines two or more of these factors for enhanced security.
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03

What is session management and why is it important?

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Session management is the process of securely handling user sessions from login to logout. It maintains the user's authenticated state across multiple requests without requiring re-authentication for each action.
Key components:

  • Session creation: Generated after successful authentication
  • Session storage: Server-side storage of session data
  • Session validation: Checking session validity on each request
  • Session termination: Proper cleanup on logout or timeout
    Importance:
  • Provides seamless user experience
  • Maintains security state
  • Prevents unauthorized access
  • Enables proper audit trails
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04

What is the principle of least privilege?

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05

What is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and when should it be used?

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Intermediate 11
06

Explain how JWT (JSON Web Tokens) work and their structure.

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07

What is OAuth 2.0 and how does it work?

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08

What is Single Sign-On (SSO) and what are its benefits and challenges?

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09

Explain Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and its components.

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10

What are Access Control Lists (ACLs) and when are they appropriate?

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11

How should passwords be securely stored and what is salting?

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12

What is CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) and how can it be prevented?

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13

Explain the security considerations for storing authentication tokens.

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14

What is session hijacking and how can it be prevented?

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15

How do you implement secure password reset functionality?

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16

How do you implement and manage API key authentication securely?

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Expert 8
17

What is Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) and how does it differ from RBAC?

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18

What is Zero Trust Architecture and how does it impact authentication and authorization?

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19

Explain the OAuth 2.0 PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange) extension and why it's important.

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20

What are the security implications of microservices architecture for authentication and authorization?

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21

What is OAuth 2.0 Device Authorization Grant and when would you use it?

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22

How do you handle authentication in distributed systems with eventual consistency?

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23

What are the security considerations when implementing passwordless authentication?

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24

How do you implement secure cross-domain authentication for single-page applications (SPAs)?

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