What is OpenID Connect (OIDC)
Authentication has become one of the most important needs of this digital era because most business is working online nowadays. Moreover, unlike the older times, a single task needs the inter corporation of different tools and technologies which needs authentication on all of them.
While you can do things once but when you have to do the same thing for unification again and again it gets very unproductive and frustrating. Single Sign-On is the thing that makes things efficient in this case with the help of authentication protocol. So, here we will be discussing everything about OpenID Connect which is an amazing protocol for SSO.
What is OpenID Connect?
OpenID Connect or OIDC is an authentication protocol that allows users to verify their identity. It works in the case when a user is looking to use a tool or website that is protected using the HTTPS protocol.
OpenID Connect is an identity layer that is built on the top of OAuth 2.0 which means that it is the evolution of the concepts that were first implemented in OpenID and OAuth, and it presents things in a better way. The amazing thing about OpenID Connect is that it allows third-party applications for authentication and verification using the basic profile information making things even better for the users.
How does OpenID Connect work?
As OpenID Connect is built using the evolving concepts of OAuth it works with the OAuth flow as well. The application authentication process starts when the user is asked to authorize the request where the client includes OpenID Connect scope for all the additional information. As the user processes the request by authorizing it the client receives an access token with an ID token that is provided by the authorization server.
Now the token is delivered to the client from the authorization server which is done to enhance the user experience of using SSO. With this delivery of tokens, the authentication is complete so the users can use different HTTPs protected sites using OpenID Connect SSO authentication. While things start on the OAuth flow people consider the working and overall functionality will also be the same but in reality, things are pretty different.
OpenID Connect brings better functionality and mechanism along with management in comparison to that of OAuth.
Pros and Cons of OpenID Connect
OpenID Connect comes with some amazing benefits but there are some demerits as well that every user has to face. So, here we will be mentioning some of the pros and cons that come along with OpenID Connect:
Pros:
- - The whole user authentication can be offloaded to OpenID Connect providers. In this way, the productivity for employees of an organization can increase
- - There is no need to store the credentials in databases as the OpenID Connect provider site will be taking care of all of that stuff
- - OpenID Connect brings a more lightweight approach as compared to OAuth approaches.
Cons:
- - The support for extensions is not that good for the users as some are not available at all
- - The authentication at OpenID Connect is great but it does not bring any additional features for authorization as OAuth does.
- How OpenID Connect brings more value than OAuth 2.0?
While most people think that the working of OpenID Connect and OAuth 2.0 will be the same. OpenID Connect brings better features and user experience in different ways. First of all, it is API Friendly meaning that it is usable on the custom web applications that are protected with HTTPs.
Moreover, OpenID Connect brings the mechanisms for better encryption and robust signing in. In comparison to that OAuth 2.0 also comes with some capabilities but those require extensions and different protocol integrations. So, OpenID Connect brings better overall value and experience for the users.
Final Verdict
Authentication becomes necessary for every company or organization that uses paid tools and services to provide its functionality and complete the tasks. It means that only authorized users should be able to use these services and tools.
While making users authenticate every time is not the solution to the problem, Single Sign-on brings the right solution to all such issues with the help of protocols like OpenID Connect.
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