3 Single Sign-On (SSO)

Overview

Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication scheme that allows users to log in with a single set of credentials to access multiple applications or services.

SSO Flow Diagram

Key Concepts

Benefits of SSO

• Improved User Experience - Users only need to remember one set of credentials
• Enhanced Security - Centralized authentication and access control
• Reduced Password Fatigue - Fewer passwords to manage
• Simplified Administration - Centralized user management

Common SSO Protocols

• SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) - XML-based standard
• OAuth 2.0 - Authorization framework
• OpenID Connect - Identity layer on top of OAuth 2.0
• Kerberos - Network authentication protocol

AWS SSO Solutions

AWS IAM Identity Center (formerly AWS SSO)

• Centralized access management for AWS accounts
• Integration with external identity providers
• Support for SAML 2.0

Amazon Cognito

• User authentication and authorization service
• Support for social identity providers
• Custom authentication flows

Implementation Considerations

Best Practices

• Use industry-standard protocols (SAML, OAuth, OpenID Connect)
• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Monitor and log authentication events
• Plan for identity provider failover

Related Topics

• 1 IAM Roles and Policies - AWS identity and access management
• 2 Inter-Process Communication (IPC) - Service-to-service communication
• 1 Load Balancing Algorithms - Distributing authenticated requests

Additional Resources

Source: ByteByteGo LinkedIn Post