Kerberos is a network authentication protocol designed toprovide strong authentication for client/server applications byusing secret-key cryptography. It was developed at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology as part of Project Athena in the mid-1980s.Project Athena's mandate was to explore diverse uses of computingand to build the knowledge base needed for longer-term strategicdecisions about how computers fit into the MIT curriculum.
Starting with Version 7.3-1, HP provides Kerberos as partof the OpenVMS Alpha operating system. Kerberos is compatible withOpenVMS Alpha Version 7.2-2 and higher, and OpenVMS VAX Version7.3 and higher.
Until Kerberos V4, this technology was not available to thegeneral public. Prior versions were for only internal Project Athenause. Kerberos V5, the current implementation, is the first commercial-readyrelease.
The Kerberos protocol uses strong cryptography, so that aclient can prove its identity to a server (and vice versa) acrossan insecure network connection. After a client and server have usedKerberos to prove their identity, they can also encrpt all of theircommunications to assure privacy and data integrity.
For more information about Kerberos, see HP OpenSource Security for OpenVMS, Volume 3: Kerberos or the Kerberosfor OpenVMS web site at
HP OpenVMS Guide to System Security
Security Overview
