Kerberos is a network authentication protocol that uses ticket-based authentication to securely verify users and services in a network. Developed by MIT, it is widely used in Windows Active Directory (AD) and Unix/Linux environments. Kerberos operates on the basis of a trusted third party, known as the Key Distribution Center (KDC), which issues encrypted tickets instead of transmitting passwords. It uses symmetric encryption and the principle of mutual authentication, ensuring both the client and server verify each other’s identity. Learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerberos