What is authentication (Authentifizierung) according to eCH-0219?

Authentication is the process of verifying a subject's claimed digital identity according to defined requirements set by the targeted assurance level; it checks the validity of one or more authentication means and establishes that the subject controls the secrets used.

The standard's footnote fixes the German usage: a subject authentisiert sich towards a system, a system authentifiziert a subject. It also notes the trend towards passwordless authentication for usability. Synonyms: Authentifikation, Authentisierung.

Go deeper:

• Authentication (Wikipedia) — factors, methods and the boundary to authorisation.