<s>
Atomic	B-General_Concept
authorization	I-General_Concept
is	O
the	O
act	O
of	O
securing	O
authorization	O
rights	O
independently	O
from	O
the	O
intermediary	O
applications	O
to	O
which	O
they	O
are	O
granted	O
and	O
the	O
parties	O
to	O
which	O
they	O
apply	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
formally	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
computer	O
security	O
,	O
to	O
atomically	O
authorize	O
is	O
to	O
define	O
policy	O
that	O
permits	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
specific	O
resource	O
,	O
such	O
that	O
the	O
authenticity	O
of	O
such	O
policy	O
may	O
be	O
independently	O
verified	O
without	O
reliance	O
on	O
the	O
application	B-Application
that	O
enforces	O
the	O
policy	O
or	O
the	O
individuals	O
who	O
use	O
the	O
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Resources	O
include	O
access	O
to	O
individual	O
data	O
,	O
computer	B-Application
programs	I-Application
,	O
computer	B-Architecture
hardware	I-Architecture
,	O
computer	B-Architecture
networks	I-Architecture
,	O
and	O
physical	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
traditional	O
(	O
non-atomic	O
)	O
authorization	O
,	O
policy	O
is	O
defined	O
and	O
secured	O
at	O
an	O
application	B-Application
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
is	O
,	O
outside	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
the	O
application	B-Application
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
mechanism	O
to	O
verify	O
the	O
legitimacy	O
of	O
traditional	O
authorization	O
policy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atomic	B-General_Concept
authorization	I-General_Concept
requires	O
a	O
trusted	O
third	O
party	O
to	O
issue	O
authorization	O
policy	O
with	O
a	O
cryptographic	O
guarantee	O
of	O
integrity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
it	O
is	O
secured	O
independently	O
of	O
the	O
application	B-Application
which	O
use	O
it	O
,	O
atomic	B-General_Concept
authorization	I-General_Concept
policy	O
is	O
equivalent	O
in	O
strength	O
to	O
strong	O
authentication	O
policy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
an	O
application	B-Application
using	O
strong	O
(	O
N-factor	O
)	O
authentication	O
,	O
traditional	O
authorization	O
techniques	O
pose	O
a	O
security	O
vulnerability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	B-Application
must	O
rely	O
upon	O
technologies	O
like	O
database	O
queries	O
or	O
directory	O
lookups	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
protected	O
using	O
single-factor	O
authentication	O
,	O
for	O
authorization	O
information	O
and	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
application	B-Application
specific	O
hardening	O
of	O
non-atomic	O
authorization	O
methods	O
increases	O
the	O
complexity	O
of	O
identity	O
management	O
and	O
issuing	O
credentials	O
,	O
but	O
does	O
not	O
further	O
legitimize	O
the	O
authorization	O
decisions	O
that	O
the	O
application	B-Application
makes	O
.	O
</s>
