## Authentication

### Use

The database system uses passwords to authenticate users.

For authentication, the database system uses a challenge/response procedure (SCRAM-MD5). This procedure ensures that no passwords are passed unencrypted between the client (database tool or interface) and the database instance.

This procedure only encrypts passwords. You can use SSL/TLS to encrypt the data transmission (see Data Encryption).

### Prerequisites

Client and database instance use version 7.6 or higher of the database software.

If either the client or the database instance uses a lower version of the database software, the older, unencrypted authentication procedure is used.

See also:

Users, Authentication and Authorizations