Kerberos is a network authentication protocol that uses tickets and symmetric key cryptography to allow nodes to prove their identity over an untrusted network, relying on a trusted Key Distribution Centre to issue time-limited session tickets without transmitting long-term credentials.
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- Kerberos was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and relies on a trusted third party, the Key Distribution Centre, to issue time-limited tickets. Clients present these tickets to services rather than transmitting passwords over the network.
- The protocol is widely deployed in enterprise environments and underpins Windows domain authentication. It supports mutual authentication between client and server and reduces exposure of long-term credentials.