What is the goal of authentication in information security?

The goal of authentication in information security is to establish who someone is through verification. This process involves confirming the identity of a user or system attempting to access resources. Authentication ensures that individuals are who they claim to be, often through various means such as passwords, biometric scans, or security tokens. By verifying identity, organizations can implement proper access controls, ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive information or systems, thus protecting against unauthorized access and potential security breaches.

This focus on verification emphasizes the importance of establishing trustworthy access, as it lays the foundation for additional security processes such as authorization, which determines what resources an authenticated user can access. In contrast, the other options do not align with the primary purpose of authentication, as identifying users without verification would undermine security, granting access by default would eliminate necessary controls, and guaranteeing data integrity revolves around maintaining the accuracy and consistency of data rather than verifying identity.