Have you ever considered how many different ways data in a database needs to be accessed? From analytics teams digging for insights to applications serving data to users, they all require access that's appropriate and secure. How do you ensure that this happens? In this lesson, we'll define two critical concepts, authentication and authorization. These are key to ensure your data remains safe and accessible only to those who should have access. Databases need to be accessed for many different purposes, so it's important that we verify who or what is accessing the database. Once verified, we need strict controls governing what can be accessed. This is where authentication and authorization come into the picture. So what exactly is authentication? It's the process of verifying the identity of a user trying to access the database. Authentication ensures that only legitimate users can log in and interact with your data. This security measure acts as the first line of defense against unauthorized access. Remember the hotel analogy? Authentication is like presenting your ID at the front desk to prove that you have a reservation. This step confirms your identity so you can check-in. Similarly, MongoDB offers different authentication methods from password based authentication to modern single sign on solutions. We'll explore these more soon. Now that we've discussed authentication, let's shift our attention to authorization. While authentication asks, who are you? Authorization answers, what are you allowed to do? It's the process of granting or denying users specific permissions based on their authenticated identity. Once authenticated, users gain entry into the system. However, allowing every authenticated user the ability to do whatever they want isn't a smart move. Granting every authenticated user unrestricted access would violate a key security concept known as the principle of least privilege. This principle recommends users receive only the permissions essential for their roles and no more. By adhering to this practice, you minimize the risk of accidental or malicious misuse of data. Circling back to our hotel analogy, after you've shown your ID at the front desk and confirmed your reservation, the next step involves determining what areas of the hotel you can access. This is authorization. It's like receiving a key that grants you entry to your specific room, the gym, and maybe the pool, but not the staff only areas or other guest hotel rooms. In the same way, MongoDB ensures you access only the permitted areas of your database, maintaining a secure and well ordered environment. Now that we understand authentication and authorization, we can apply these concepts in our own MongoDB deployments. Before we move on, let's take a moment to recap what we've learned. Authentication verifies user identities, much like showing your ID to check-in at a hotel. Authorization controls what authenticated users can do. The best practice for authorization is to ensure users can only access the data and permissions they need for their jobs. This is similar to a hotel key that grants access only to specific hotel areas. Authentication and authorization work together to help you safeguard your data and efficiently manage user permissions.