AUTHENTICATION PROCEDURES

Authentication is the process of establishing trust in monitoring systems and measurements to verify compliance with, for example, agreements dealing with the storage of nuclear weapons material. Authentication helps assure the monitoring party that accurate and reliable information is provided by any measurement system and that any irregularities are detected. The authentication of a system utilizes a set of approaches, including: functional testing using trusted calibration sources, evaluation of documentation, evaluation of software, evaluation of hardware, random selection of hardware and software, tamper-indicating devices, and operational procedures. Authentication of measurement systems should occur throughout their lifecycles, including system design, off-site authentication, on-site authentication, and authentication following repair. The most important of these is authentication during the initial design of systems. Hardware and software design criteria and procurement decisions can make future authentication relatively straightforward or conversely very difficult. Facility decisions can likewise ease the procedures for authentication since reliable and effective monitoring systems and tampering indicating devices can help provide the assurance needed in the integrity of such items as measurement systems, spare equipment, and reference sources. This paper will summarize the results of discussions by U.S. technical experts on the role of procedures in authentication.