The Generic Authorization and Access-control API (GAA-API) provides fine-grained access control and application-level intrusion detection capabilities that are accessible to applications through a simple API. Applications can use this framework to delegate access control and application-level intrusion detection to the GAA-API.

The GAA-API supports the needs of most applications, thus not forcing the developers to design their own authorization mechanisms.

 

Without knowledge of the identity of an individual requesting an operation, it is often difficult to decide whether the operation should be allowed. Traditional authentication methods are not suitable for use in computer networks where attackers can monitor network traffic and intercept passwords. The use of strong authentication methods that do not disclose passwords is imperative. The Kerberos authentication system supports strong authentication on such networks.