--- title: "Glossary: terms for KYA and agent authority" url: https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary lang: en updated: 2026-10-12 license: © Innopulse Consulting GmbH --- # Glossary 65 terms around authority, receipts and verification of AI agents, each with its own page. [A](#az-a)[B](#az-b)[C](#az-c)[D](#az-d)[E](#az-e)[F](#az-f)[G](#az-g)[H](#az-h)[I](#az-i)[J](#az-j)[K](#az-k)[L](#az-l)[M](#az-m)[N](#az-n)[O](#az-o)[P](#az-p)[Q](#az-q)[R](#az-r)[S](#az-s)[T](#az-t)U[V](#az-v)[W](#az-w)[X](#az-x)Y[Z](#az-z) - [Agent Card](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/agent-card)An Agent Card is a machine-readable profile of an AI agent in the Agent2Agent protocol that describes its name, capabilities, address and supported authentication. - [Agent mandate](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/agent-mandate)An agent mandate is a principal's signed, machine-readable authorization for an AI agent that defines which actions are allowed, to what extent and until when. - [Agent passport](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/agent-passport)An agent passport is a signed credential about an AI agent's identity, usually with a bound key, that does not itself grant any authority. - [Agent Payments Protocol (AP2)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/ap2)The Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) is an open protocol by Google that secures payments by AI agents with signed mandates for intent, cart and payment. - [Agent2Agent protocol (A2A)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/a2a)The Agent2Agent protocol (A2A) is an open protocol through which AI agents from different vendors discover each other, hand over tasks and exchange results. - [Agentic commerce](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/agentic-commerce)Agentic commerce refers to purchases and payments that an AI agent selects and carries out on behalf of a person or a company. - [Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/agentic-commerce-protocol)The Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) is an open specification by OpenAI and Stripe that describes checkout between an AI agent and an online shop. - [AI agent](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/ai-agent)An AI agent is a software system that uses a language model to pursue goals and carries out actions on its own to reach them, such as buying, booking or filing applications. - [Authority to act](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/authority-to-act)Authority to act is the power to bind another person through legal acts in their name; for AI agents, it defines what an agent may commit its principal to. - [Blanket authority](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/blanket-authority)A blanket authority is a mandate without a defined scope that allows an agent any action and therefore cannot be meaningfully verified. - [Canonicalization (JCS)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/canonicalization)Canonicalization brings data into a unique, defined representation so hashes and signatures always come out the same regardless of formatting; for JSON, RFC 8785 describes the JSON Canonicalization Scheme (JCS). - [Confused deputy](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/confused-deputy)A confused deputy is a program with far-reaching rights that a less privileged party tricks into using those rights in its favor. - [Decentralized Identifier (DID)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/did)A Decentralized Identifier (DID) is an identifier following a W3C standard that points to a document with public keys and works without a central registry. - [Decision token](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/decision-token)A decision token is a verifying party's signed record that a specific agent action was allowed, denied or escalated before execution. - [Delegation chain](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/delegation-chain)A delegation chain is the sequence of signed transfers through which an authority passes from the principal via intermediate steps to the acting agent. - [DPoP (RFC 9449)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/dpop)DPoP (Demonstrating Proof of Possession) under RFC 9449 binds an OAuth token to a client key, so a stolen token cannot be used without the matching private key. - [eIDAS 2.0](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/eidas-2)eIDAS 2.0 is the revised EU regulation on electronic identification and trust services, which among other things introduces the EUDI wallet. - [Electronic seal](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/electronic-seal)An electronic seal is the electronic signature of an organization rather than a person; it proves the origin and integrity of data issued by a company or authority. - [EUDI wallet](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/eudi-wallet)The EUDI wallet is the European digital identity wallet that all EU states must offer their citizens under eIDAS 2.0. - [Evidence pack](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/evidence-pack)An evidence pack bundles mandate, decision, receipts, status lists and timestamps into one file whose content is protected against change by a manifest. - [Execution receipt](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/execution-receipt)An execution receipt is the entry that records, after an agent action, what was executed and references the related decision and mandate. - [Fail-closed](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/fail-closed)Fail-closed means a system denies when in doubt: if information is missing or a check fails, the action is not executed. - [Guardrails](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/guardrails)Guardrails are protective mechanisms around a language model that filter inputs and outputs, such as harmful content, confidential data or topics outside the intended use. - [HTTP Message Signatures (RFC 9421)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/http-message-signatures)HTTP Message Signatures are an IETF standard (RFC 9421) that lets senders sign selected parts of an HTTP message so that recipients can verify its origin and integrity. - [Human in the loop](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/human-in-the-loop)Human in the loop describes an approach in which a person reviews certain actions of an AI agent before execution and approves or rejects them. - [ID Austria](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/id-austria)ID Austria is Austria's government electronic proof of identity, with which people can identify online and create qualified electronic signatures. - [JWKS (JSON Web Key Set)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/jwks)A JWKS (JSON Web Key Set) is a list of public keys in JSON format following RFC 7517 that verifying parties use to check an issuer's signatures. - [Key binding](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/key-binding)Key binding is proof that whoever presents a credential holds the private key bound to it. - [Know Your Agent (KYA)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/know-your-agent)Know Your Agent (KYA) is the verification of whether an AI agent was authorized for a specific action – with evidence third parties can recompute independently. - [Know Your Business (KYB)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/know-your-business)Know Your Business (KYB) is the verification of companies as business partners: their existence, owners, beneficial owners and persons authorized to represent them. - [Least privilege](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/least-privilege)Least privilege is the principle of giving an agent only the rights it needs for a specific task, and only for as long as it needs them. - [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/mcp)The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol through which AI applications connect tools, data and services in a uniform way. - [Mutual TLS (RFC 8705)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/mutual-tls)Mutual TLS (mTLS) is a TLS connection in which the client also identifies itself with a certificate; RFC 8705 uses this to authenticate OAuth clients and bind tokens to their certificate. - [Network tokenization](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/network-tokenization)Network tokenization replaces the card number with a token from the card network that applies only to a specific merchant, device or agent and requires its own cryptogram for every payment. - [OAuth 2.1](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/oauth-2-1)OAuth 2.1 is a consolidation of OAuth 2.0 being developed in the IETF that makes proven security rules mandatory and removes insecure flows such as the implicit grant. - [OAuth Token Exchange (RFC 8693)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/token-exchange)OAuth Token Exchange under RFC 8693 is a procedure in which a service exchanges an existing token for a new one, for example to continue working on behalf of a user or as that user's representative. - [OpenID Federation](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/openid-federation)OpenID Federation is a specification by the OpenID Foundation with which organizations prove, through signed trust chains, that an issuer or service belongs to a trusted federation. - [OpenID for Verifiable Presentations (OID4VP)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/oid4vp)OpenID for Verifiable Presentations (OID4VP) is a protocol by the OpenID Foundation in which a verifying party requests credentials from a wallet and the wallet presents them. - [Passkeys](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/passkeys)Passkeys are password-free credentials based on asymmetric cryptography following the FIDO and WebAuthn standards and bound to a specific website. - [Payment initiation service](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/payment-initiation-service)A payment initiation service triggers a payment directly from a customer's bank account on her behalf; in the EU, it is a regulated payment service under the Payment Services Directive PSD2. - [Policy decision point (PDP)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/policy-decision-point)A policy decision point (PDP) is the component that decides, based on rules, whether a requested action is allowed; a policy enforcement point (PEP) enforces that decision. - [Principal](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/principal)The principal is the natural or legal person on whose behalf an AI agent acts and who granted it the mandate. - [Prompt injection](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/prompt-injection)Prompt injection is an attack in which hidden instructions in texts, websites or documents make a language model do something other than intended. - [Qualified electronic signature](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/qualified-electronic-signature)A qualified electronic signature (QES) is an electronic signature with a qualified certificate from a recognized provider that is legally equivalent to a handwritten signature. - [Qualified timestamp](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/qualified-timestamp)A qualified timestamp is an electronic timestamp from a recognized trust service for which the law presumes the accuracy of time and the integrity of the data. - [Receipt chain](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/receipt-chain)A receipt chain is a sequence of execution receipts in which every entry contains its predecessor's hash, so that any change or gap breaks the chain. - [Replay attack](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/replay-attack)A replay attack is an attempt to resubmit an intercepted, valid message or credential in order to trigger an action a second time or at a different recipient. - [Rich Authorization Requests (RFC 9396)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/rich-authorization-requests)Rich Authorization Requests (RAR) are an OAuth extension defined in RFC 9396 that lets a client request fine-grained permissions as structured details instead of plain scopes. - [SD-JWT VC](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/sd-jwt-vc)SD-JWT VC is an IETF format for verifiable credentials in which the issuer signs hashes and the holder selectively discloses individual claims. - [Selective disclosure](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/selective-disclosure)Selective disclosure means revealing only the details of a signed credential that a verification needs, without breaking the signature. - [Status list](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/status-list)A status list is an issuer-signed, compressed bit list that indicates for every issued credential whether it is valid, revoked or suspended. - [Strong customer authentication](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/strong-customer-authentication)Strong customer authentication (SCA) is the obligation under the EU Payment Services Directive PSD2 to confirm electronic payments with two independent factors from knowledge, possession and inherence. - [Swiss e-ID (swiyu)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/swiss-e-id)The e-ID is Switzerland's government electronic proof of identity, which people keep in the swiyu wallet app and present selectively. - [Timestamp (RFC 3161)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/rfc-3161-timestamp)An RFC 3161 timestamp is a timestamp authority's signed confirmation that a specific hash existed at a specific time. - [Tool poisoning](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/tool-poisoning)Tool poisoning is an attack in which hidden instructions in a tool's description or responses lead an AI agent into unwanted actions. - [Trust anchor](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/trust-anchor)A trust anchor is a certificate or key that the verifying party explicitly trusts and to which other certificates must be traceable. - [Trusted Agent Protocol](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/trusted-agent-protocol)The Trusted Agent Protocol is an approach by Visa in which AI agents identify themselves to merchants with signed requests and pass on details about the customer and payment. - [Verifiable Intent](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/verifiable-intent)Verifiable Intent is an open format by Mastercard in which a user signs the limits of an agent purchase and the agent provably binds the final values to them. - [Verifier](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/verifier)A verifier is the point in a flow where an agent action is checked against the mandate before execution, for example a gateway in front of a tool. - [Verifying party](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/verifying-party)The verifying party is the party that verifies agent evidence and decides which issuers and timestamp authorities it trusts. - [W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/w3c-verifiable-credentials)W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0 is a data model by the World Wide Web Consortium for digital credentials that an issuer signs and a holder presents to verifying parties. - [Web Bot Auth](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/web-bot-auth)Web Bot Auth is an approach in which bots and AI agents sign their HTTP requests cryptographically so that websites can reliably recognize the operator. - [Workload identity (SPIFFE)](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/workload-identity)A workload identity is a cryptographically proven identity for software rather than people; SPIFFE is an open standard for it, with short-lived identity documents for services, containers and agents. - [X.509 certificate](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/x509-certificate)An X.509 certificate is a signed data structure following RFC 5280 that links a public key with an identity and is issued by a certificate authority. - [Zero trust](https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/zero-trust)Zero trust is a security model that trusts no request on the basis of its network location alone but checks every request individually based on identity, context and rules. --- Quelle: https://knowyouragent.ch/en/knowledge/glossary · KYA – Know Your Agent