MBA-714: Create AuthenticationService Module Structure and Core Framework

[devin-ai-integration]

MBA-714: Create AuthenticationService Module Structure and Core Framework

Summary

This PR implements the foundational structure for a NIST 800-53 compliant authentication framework as part of the microservices architecture conversion for the USPTO Patent BulkDownloader project. The implementation creates a new Maven module with core authentication classes and placeholder interfaces for future development.

Key Components:

• New Maven Module: AuthenticationService with proper parent POM integration
• 6 Core Framework Classes: AuthenticationContext, AuthenticationProvider, AuthenticationResult, Principal, Credential, AuthenticationException
• 2 Configuration Classes: AuthenticationConfig (properties management), SecurityConstants (NIST 800-53 mappings)
• 8 Placeholder Interface Packages: authenticator, identifier, identity, session, service, policy, crypto, storage
• 40 Unit Tests: Comprehensive test coverage for all core classes (100% passing)

Architectural Decision: Used lightweight approach (jBCrypt 0.4 + Commons Codec 1.15) instead of Spring Security to maintain consistency with the existing Java 8 plain-Java architecture. This avoids introducing Spring Framework dependencies to a project that currently has none.

Build Status: ✅ All tests pass, module compiles successfully, integrates with parent POM

Review & Testing Checklist for Human

• Verify architectural decision to avoid Spring Security - The ticket mentioned Spring Security, but I chose a lightweight approach to maintain consistency with the existing plain-Java codebase. Confirm this aligns with the project's long-term architecture goals.

• Review thread-local cleanup mechanism - AuthenticationContext uses ThreadLocal for storing the current principal. Verify the cleanup mechanism is sufficient for bulk processing scenarios (2,000-5,000 patents per file). Check AuthenticationContext.clear() and the test AuthenticationContextTest.testThreadLocalIsolation().

• Validate placeholder interface method signatures - All 8 non-core packages contain only interfaces with no implementations. Review the method signatures in AuthenticatorManager, IdentifierManager, IdentityProofing, SessionManager, ServiceAuthenticator, AuthenticationPolicy, CryptoService, and AuthenticationStorage to ensure they'll support the intended future implementations.

• Check dependency versions - Verify that jBCrypt 0.4, Commons Codec 1.15, and Mockito 3.12.4 are appropriate choices for this Java 8 project. Note that jBCrypt 0.4 is from 2014 but is stable and widely used.

• Test module integration - Run mvn clean install from the project root to verify the new module integrates properly with the existing build system and doesn't break any existing modules.

Test Plan

1. Build the entire project: cd ~/repos/USPTO-Patent-Public-Data && mvn clean install
2. Run tests for the new module: mvn test -pl AuthenticationService
3. Verify no circular dependencies: Check that Common, PatentDocument, and BulkDownloader still build independently
4. Review the architectural decisions document at /tmp/architectural-decisions.md (if needed)

Notes

What This PR Does NOT Include:

• No actual authentication implementations (all interfaces are placeholders)
• No integration with existing BulkDownloader or PatentDocument modules
• No properties files for configuration (uses defaults)
• No concrete password hashing, token generation, or session management implementations

NIST 800-53 Compliance: The code includes JavaDoc references to NIST controls (IA-1, IA-2, IA-4, IA-5, IA-9, IA-11, IA-12), but actual compliance validation will require future implementation and security review.

Thread Safety: The AuthenticationContext class uses ThreadLocal and includes a clear() method that MUST be called in finally blocks to prevent memory leaks in bulk processing scenarios. This is documented but not enforced by the framework.

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Requested by: Jake Cosme (jake@cognition.ai) / @jakexcosme
Session: https://app.devin.ai/sessions/c03347953fca456a95291f2673322ca7

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