What is Single sign on ?
Single sign-on (SSO) is an authentication solution that allows users to log in to multiple applications and websites with one-time user authentication. Given that users today frequently access applications directly from their browsers, organizations are prioritizing access management strategies that improve both security and the user experience. SSO delivers both aspects, as users can access all password-protected resources without repeated logins once their identity is validated.
Why SSO
Strengthen password security
When we don’t use SSO, Users must remember multiple passwords for different websites which lead to non-recommended security practices, such as using simple or repetitive passwords for different accounts
SSO prevents password fatigue and encourages users to create a strong password that can be used for multiple websites.
Improve productivity
Employees often use more than one enterprise application that requires separate authentication. Manually entering the username and password for every application is time-consuming and unproductive. SSO streamlines the user validation process for enterprise applications and makes it easier to access protected resources.
Reduce costs
In their attempt to remember numerous passwords, enterprise users may forget their login credentials. This results in frequent requests to retrieve or reset their passwords, which increases workload for the in-house IT teams. Implementing SSO reduces occurrences of forgotten passwords and thus minimizes the support resources in handling requests for password resets.
Improve security posture
By minimizing the number of passwords per user, SSO facilitates user access auditing and provides robust access control to all types of data. This reduces the risk of security events that target passwords, while helping organizations comply with data security regulations.
SSO process
The SSO process is as follows:
- When a user signs in to an application, the app generates an SSO token and sends an authentication request to the SSO service.
- The service checks if the user was previously authenticated in the system. If yes, it sends an authentication confirmed response to the application to grant access to the user.
- If the user does not have a validated credential, the SSO service redirects the user to a central login system and prompts the user to submit their username and password.
- Upon submission, the service validates the user credentials and sends the positive response to the application.
- Otherwise, the user receives an error message and must re-enter credentials. Multiple failed login attempts could result in the service blocking the user from further attempts for a fixed period of time.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.