Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) is a cryptographic protocol used to securely establish a shared secret between two parties without requiring a central authority. It allows both parties to authenticate each other simultaneously, ensuring that neither party is at a disadvantage during the authentication process. SAE is commonly used in wireless networks, particularly in the Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) standard. By employing a password-based key exchange, SAE enhances security against various attacks, such as offline dictionary attacks, making it a robust choice for modern network authentication.