a network authentication system provides verification of the identity or other attributes of a network user to conduct a transaction , access data or avail themselves of other resources . the user is presented with a hierarchy of queries based on wallet - type and non - wallet type information designed to ensure the identity of the user and prevent fraud , false negatives and other undesirable results . a preprocessing stage may be employed to ensure correct formatting of the input information and clean up routine mistakes that might otherwise halt the transaction . queries can be presented in interactive , batch processed or other format . the authenticator can be configured to require differing levels of input or award differing levels of authentication according to security criteria .