The Internet of Things (IoT) is regarded as the next generation worldwide network that connects every necessary object to facilitate our daily life. Although it is only an abstract concept to some extent, a number of relevant undergoing researches make this blueprint more possible in the near future. Those works involve wired and wireless sensor networks, mobile ad-hoc network, radio frequency identification, ubiquitous computing, etc. Due to the inherent vulnerabilities of the internet, security and privacy issues should be considered and addressed before the IoT is widely deployed. Authentication and access control are two key techniques to prevent a computer or network component from being compromised. This paper mainly analyses existing authentication and access control methods, and then, it designs a feasible one for the IoT. Potential future directions are discussed at the end of this paper. Copyright © 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.