An apparatus for authenticating a request includes a receiving unit, an acquiring unit, a determining unit, and a permitting unit. The receiving unit receives a request for a service-related process from a service user via a communication device. The request contains process request information indicating the contents of the requested process and connection identification information unique to the communication device. The acquiring unit acquires the connection identification information contained in the received request. The determining unit determines whether the connection identification information acquired by the acquiring unit exactly corresponds to connection identification information of a communication device that has established an authorized connection. When the two pieces of the connection identification information are determined to exactly correspond to each other, the permitting unit permits performing a process that corresponds to the process request information, which is contained in the request received by the receiving unit.