Definicja credential

Credentials contain data that enables the subject to perform certain activities. A credential may contain information, which is used to authenticate the subject to new services. These credentials have passwords, Kerberos tickets, and public-key certificates. They are used in environments that support Single Sign-On (SSO). JAAS specification refers to these generic security-related attributes as credentials - that is, when services want to associate other security-related attributes and data with a subject in addition to principals. Cryptographic keys, for example, represent credentials that allow the subject to sign or encrypt data. JAAS credentials may be any type of object.