What primary service does the Kerberos protocol provide for networks?

The Kerberos protocol primarily provides authentication services for networks. It is designed to securely verify the identities of users and devices in a network environment. By using a secret-key cryptography mechanism, Kerberos allows individuals to prove their identities to one another without transmitting passwords over the network, which helps mitigate the risk of eavesdropping and replay attacks.

Kerberos employs a system of tickets to grant access to network resources. When a user authenticates to a Kerberos server, they receive a ticket that can be used to request access to other services without needing to re-enter their password. This single sign-on capability enhances both security and user convenience by allowing users to authenticate once and gain access to multiple services without re-authenticating.

While encryption, non-repudiation, and data integrity are important aspects of securing communications, they are not the primary service provided by Kerberos. Instead, encryption is used within the Kerberos protocol to protect the confidentiality of the authentication exchange, non-repudiation is often associated with logging and auditing rather than direct authentication, and data integrity pertains to ensuring that data is not altered during transmission, which is not the main focus of Kerberos.