Majority of the online activities these days requires identity authentication to access to apps and services. User credentials and logins can be found everywhere, from apps to hardware to websites. An authentication method is required to verify a user's identity online and to confirm entitlements so that privileged access can be executed. This also serves as a first layer of security, limiting access to sensitive data for individuals who have been granted by the organization. On the other hand, providing users with seamless access to multiple applications is also important to increase user satisfactions. Such a feature can be integrated in your authentication process by adopting tools like Federal Identity Management (FIM) or Single Sign-On (SSO). How could these two approaches help your organization? What is the difference between them? This article will provide you with a better overview on these two authentication services
Single sign-on (SSO) is an authentication method that allows a user to securely authenticate access to various apps and websites with just one set of login credentials (for example, an ID and password). Enterprises, small businesses, and individuals can utilize SSO to simplify the maintenance of multiple users and passwords. For example, SSO can make provisioning and managing employee credentials easier in Business to Employee (B2E) environments. Employees may log in once and obtain access to everything they need instead of keeping track of credentials for each service. It's also much easier to deprovision a single account if an employee leaves the company.
Similarly, clients frequently use a single corporate account or gateway to access several services or apps. Singpass account is a good example. After your apps’ Singpass integration, your users access multiple governmental digital services without requiring a separate account for each.
Single sign-on (SSO) simplifies the authentication process, allowing users to access multiple applications with just one set of login credentials. Here’s how it works:
With single sign-on federation services, this process extends beyond internal systems, enabling secure access across different organizations and trusted third-party services.
With SSO, businesses can manage user access across all applications from one central location. This simplifies user management and ensures that access policies are consistently enforced.
SSO minimizes the need for users to remember multiple passwords, reducing the likelihood of weak password practices and enhancing overall security.
By decreasing the number of password-related help desk requests, SSO can reduce IT costs and free up valuable IT resources for more critical tasks.
SSO allows users to log in quickly and efficiently, reducing downtime caused by forgotten passwords and improving overall workplace productivity.
By limiting the number of login credentials users need to manage, SSO reduces potential attack surfaces, lowering the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.
Federated identity management (FIM) is a collaboration between many organizations or domains that allows users to access all of their networks with the same digital identity. Such collaborations are referred to as trust domains. Each trust domain, sometimes referred to as a Service Provider (SP), manages its own identity. All SPs, on the other hand, are linked by a third-party service that keeps users' access credentials and provides the trust mechanism required for FIM to run. The identity provider (IdP), which may be an entity like Google, Facebook, or even Singpass, is that third-party service.
For example, employees may use their single Singpass credential to log in to several SP’s apps integrated with Singpass, such as Salesforce or Skype. The SP and IdP exchange information so that the user may be authenticated and given access to the applications/services. Standard protocols can be used to establish FIM, including (but not limited to):
Federated identity management (FIM) common use cases:
Digital transformation demands your ability to provide users with easy access to all the resources they require, even if those applications and services are hosted outside your firewall and controlled by third parties. FIM can facilitate such requirements, and thus you can:
Although SSO is a key part of FIM, the terms are not interchangeable. The most significant distinction between Identity Federation and SSO is the scope of access.
With SSO, users can access numerous systems within a single business using a single set of credentials (a single domain). FIM, on the other hand, allows users to access systems from several federated organizations at the same time. They have access to all the federated group's apps, programs, and networks.
Overall, both solutions can positively impact on your IT security and business aspects as they are time-saving and have highly-secure user authentication process. Successfully enabling authentication services of SSO and FIM for app integration like Singpass is one of our capabilities in enhancing overall cybersecurity postures of various organizations without trading-off user experience. Adnovum will support you in designing and implementing SSO and FIM services based on your business requirements and objectives.
Speak to our experts to learn how to leverage the SSO and FIM for your organization today.