Federated identity management (FIM) has been getting increasingly popular in recent years as it allows a user to link their digital identity across several separate security domains. Identity providers are the applications that support such authentication. One such identity provider is SingPass (Singapore Personal Access), a digital identity given to every Singapore Citizen that enables them to access a wide range of digital services by government agencies and private organisations.
For organisations looking to use SingPass as their federated identity, OpenID Connect (OIDC) is the latest singpass integration to support such a function.
As an authentication software, OIDC builds upon the existing infrastructure of OpenID and OAuth 2.0 to provide a more secure and seamless login experience for users. As such, the main benefits of using this software includes:
1. Verification of the user behind each digital identity
OAuth2.0 authorise users to the type of data they can access. This is done by issuing access tokens that grant access to resource servers. This differs from authentication - which refers to verifying that the user accessing the information is a human and not a bot. This is especially crucial when granting access to sensitive data such as health and financial records. With OIDC, ID tokens are issued through JSON Web Token (JWS) that contains important information about the user such as their name and email address. Not only does this allow organisations to know who is accessing the server, but it also ensures the security of the IT environment as the user has been authenticated.
2. Providing access across different technologies
As technology becomes more integrated into daily life, users need the ability to access information from anywhere and from any device. As such, be it mobile, IoT, or Web devices, OIDC can securely support federated authentication across these different platforms.
3. Allows for scalability
A notable key issue of identity access management is that the security of private networks can be compromised as more users log in. With cybersecurity becoming a very important issue, organisations will need a multi-layered security approach so that authorisation can be checked at the resource, user, and device levels. OIDC supports this functionality and allows organisations to minimise unauthorised access as more users log into their applications.
4. Credentials stored in one secure location
For organisations that have multiple applications, previous authorisation protocols may result in many separate databases of users. Not only does it take up data, but maintaining these databases are administratively tedious. With an OIDC software, each user’s digital identity and their authorisation access can be stored in one single database. Thus, cutting down on maintenance and allowing businesses to put their IT resources to better use elsewhere.
5. Seamless transition
As OIDC builds up OAuth2.0 and utilises a JSON/ REST architecture, it integrates with applications and efficiently matches enterprise security requirements. Unless the integration is complicated in nature, e.g. with complex and / or legacy systems, this ensures that employees and customers can seamlessly transition to using a new authentication process.
With SPCP (SingPass/CorpPass) authentication having migrated to OIDC from SAML, organisations that want to continue using SingPass as an identity provider will need to do the same. User login is often a forgotten area when it comes to ensuring the cybersecurity of an organisation’ IT environment. That is why authentication software is constantly evolving and improving so as to minimise cyber threats. As a result, organisations will need to adapt to new processes as well. As an experienced IT security service provider, we can help your organisation seamlessly integrate OIDC into your organisation’s IT infrastructure and ensure that it meets the IT needs of your internal and external users.
Adnovum Singapore has a wide range of IT security solutions that can be easily customised to suit the unique needs of your business.
Contact us today to find out more!
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