Which protocol is primarily designed for authorization in web applications?

The correct choice focuses on OAuth, which is specifically designed for authorization in web applications. OAuth allows a user to grant limited access to their resources on one site to another site without sharing their credentials. It utilizes access tokens issued by an authorization server, which can be used by client applications to access protected resources on behalf of the user.

OAuth primarily addresses the needs of web applications where users want to authorize third-party applications to perform actions on their behalf, such as accessing profile information or posting on their social media accounts without needing to provide their username and password directly to those applications. This aligns with the contemporary needs for secure and user-friendly authorization mechanisms in varied digital ecosystems.

Alternatives such as RADIUS and TACACS+ are typically used for network access authentication rather than web application authorization. They are designed to provide user authentication, authorization, and accounting primarily for network devices. Kerberos, while effective for authentication, does not focus on authorization in web applications but rather on establishing secure identities over a network. Thus, OAuth’s specialized function for web application authorization makes it the correct choice in this context.