Meaning – The term Kerberos, refers to the security system of the Massachusetts Institute of Technologyi?s (MIT’s) Project Athena. It uses symmetric key cryptography to provide security services to users in a network.
It uses secret-key cryptography and a trusted third party for authenticating client-server applications and verifying users’ identities.
Initially developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for Project Athena in the late ’80s, Kerberos is now the default authorization technology used by Microsoft Windows. Kerberos implementations also exist for other operating systems such as Apple OS, FreeBSD, UNIX, and Linux.
Example of usage – “The protocol derives its name from the legendary three-headed dog Kerberos (also known as Cerberus) from Greek myths, the canine guardian to the entrance to the underworld. But in the protocol’s case, the three heads of Kerberos represent the client, the server, and the Key Distribution Center (KDC).”
