What is Single Sign-On (SSO)?
Authentication has become so important with the advancements of technology. In older times there were only a few digital tools or services that one needed to use. However, now things are pretty different. There are several tools and software solutions that are all integrated for one thing to work. So, there must be a simple, easy, and efficient way to deal with sign-in on every platform.
What is Single Sign-On (SSO)?
Single sign-on (SSO) brings all that you need as it combines different login screens from different applications and tools into one. In this way, you only need to authenticate yourself once and you are good to use all of your SaaS applications. It is amazing not only for the users but for businesses as it makes things extremely efficient for employees increasing their productivity.
How does Single Sign-On (SSO) work?
Working with a Single sign-on (SSO) is not complex at all. Consider that you are a user, and you are using SSO. You sign in to your SSO service and the system will generate an authentication token. While this session is going, any app that you need to access that is compatible with the SSO will not need you to put in your login credentials again and again.
SSO will pass the authentication phase making things quick and easy for you. So, with the use of one authentication token, things become seamless and quick as there is no need to keep exploring databases, again and again, every time you have to log in somewhere.
Advantages of Single sign-on (SSO)
SSO comes with a lot of advantages and some of those advantages are elaborated below.
Strong passwords and no repetition of passwords
The first one is that SSO can help using stronger passwords. With SSO you can set a strong and complex password for different applications and there is no need to keep the same as you are not going to remember them. You only need to remember the password for SSO making things secure.
Multi-Factor Authentication
SSO provides an amazing feature of MFA where a user needs to use different factors to authenticate. This may include their credentials, some hardware, OTP, and several other things in combination which may not be feasible for hackers to easily crack.
Better time management and productivity
Whether it is about recovering passwords or using passwords, SSO provides better productivity and time management as there is no need to input dozens of passwords for dozens of applications.
Better admin control
When SSO is implemented, the admins can ask for authentication which will need the users to enter their password again. In this way, the system cannot be compromised at all.
Different types of Single sign-on (SSO)
While the backend working terminologies resemble SSO, there are different names for the same things used on different levels. The following are some different terms that are used as SSO:
- - Single sign-on (SSO)
- - Federated Identity Management (FIM)
- - Security Access Markup Language (SAML)
- - OAuth
- - OpenID Connect (OIDC)
While the working of all these different terms may seem the same, a few backend differences are setting them apart from every other option. In simple words. Single sign-on (SSO) covers the whole domain while these other terms are like subsets to what SSO provides.
Is Single sign-on (SSO) that secure?
If we sort the use cases out SSO brings amazing security. The reason is that instead of using different passwords in different places a user can only remember one complex password that works for everything. While there are some benefits for on-site employees, SSO also makes things safe for remote employees.
It is because they are connected via a network and on the network, risks increase. However, using SSO means all the authentication will be done using an authentication token making things secure.
Are there any drawbacks to using Single sign-on (SSO)?
Yes, there are some drawbacks, some of the drawbacks include unsupported applications and logging into one application restricting logging into other applications. However, the advantages of SSO make up for these drawbacks.
Final Verdict
In this digital era where everything is to be done online, security is a major matter of concern. Different things provide the necessary functionalities but neither of them is perfect for everyone. However, one of these things is Single sign-on (SSO) which brings amazing features and benefits.
Using SSO can make things extremely beneficial for enterprises and businesses where employee authentication is necessary.
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