Authentication and authorization without the use of supplicants

A method, comprising:

• generating, by a system comprising a processor, a profile for an endpoint based on a characteristic observed during a successful attempt by the endpoint to access a protected communications network,
• wherein the successful attempt is in response to a first authentication request, and,
• wherein the profile includes at least data specific to a verifying user identity associated with an acceptance of the first authentication request, and
• wherein a supplicant is not deployed on the endpoint;
• determining, by the system, an expected characteristic for another attempt by the endpoint to access the protected communications network, the other attempt is a future attempt, and the expected characteristic is a prediction of a characteristic of the other authentication request, wherein the determining includes combining profile data with other profile data to predict a port connection for the second authentication request;
• comparing, by the system, a characteristic of the other attempt by the endpoint to access the protected communications network with the expected characteristic;
• and
• selectively controlling, by the system, access to the protected communications network by the endpoint as a result of the comparing,
• wherein the selectively controlling access comprises automatically granting access based on a determination that the characteristic of the other attempt matches the expected characteristic, and
• wherein the selectively controlling access comprises automatically denying access based on a determination that the characteristic of the other access attempt does not match the expected characteristic.

A computer-readable storage device storing executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system comprising a processor to perform operations, comprising:

• generating profile data for a device based on the device being authorized to access a secure network in response to a first authentication request, and
• wherein the profile data includes at least data specific to a verifying user identity associated with an acceptance of the first authentication request;
• determining an expected characteristic of a second authentication request by the device to access the secure network, the expected characteristic is a prediction of a characteristic of the second authentication request, wherein the determining includes combining the profile data with other profile data to predict a port connection for the second authentication request;
• after receipt of the second authentication request, comparing the characteristic of the second authentication request to the expected characteristic;
• and
• controlling access to the secure network based on the comparison, wherein a supplicant is not deployed on the device, wherein controlling access includes:
• upon a determination that the characteristic of the second authentication request matches the expected characteristic, automatically authenticating the device with the secure network, and
• upon a determination that the characteristic of the second authentication request does not match the expected characteristic, automatically denying the device access to the secure network.