The following topics are covered in this article: federated identity management (FIM): definition, operation, examples, Benefits of federated identity management, drawbacks, and use cases.
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What is federated identity management (FIM)?
An agreement between several businesses or domains that allows users to access all of their networks using the same digital identity is known as federated identity management, or FIM. Another name for these partners is trust domains. An organisation, a commercial division, or a minor subsidiary of a larger organisation can all be considered trust domains.
FIM is a single-login, multiple-access solution. Mutual trust between all partners is essential for FIM to function well. Every trust domain manages its identity in a unique way. Nevertheless, a third-party service that maintains user access credentials and offers the trust mechanism required for FIM to function connects all domains. The identity broker or identity provider is the term used to describe this third service.
Access control for several service providers is managed by this provider. Two or more identity brokers from different organizations enter into a FIM agreement.
FIM connects the identities of users across many security domains. Users only need to authenticate to one domain when two domains are federated. By making it possible for users to switch between systems swiftly and safely, this enhances the user experience. The reason for this is that a second security domain and a component of the FIM system assume that the user’s home domain has verified their identity and granted them unrestricted access.
Federated identity management architecture
A FIM architecture has an identity provider (IdP) that authenticates a client (a human or device) and a relying party that accepts its attestations. The relying party accepts the IdP’s attestation when the client authenticates with it.
How does federated identity management work?
The reason FIM functions is that the FIM partners communicate authorization messages to one another. SAML or a related Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard can be used to send these messages. Both allow users to access numerous related but distinct websites or networks by logging on just once.
Users’ home domain, or identity provider, receives and retains their login credentials. Then, customers are not required to give credentials to the service provider when they log in to a service, like a software as a service (SaaS) application. Instead, the identity provider is trusted by the service provider to verify these credentials and provide access.
Therefore, when a user tries to utilize FIM to log into a website or application, the application or website asks the identity provider’s authentication server for federated authentication, which confirms the user’s authorization and access. The user is then given access once the identity provider gives them permission to contact the service provider.
Benefits of federated identity management
If used, FIM offers an organisation a number of advantages, such as the following:
- Access: FIM allows participants to access and share resources across all domains when organizations collaborate on a project.
- Authentication: FIM makes it easier to authorize and authenticate users of the federation’s systems.
- Control: Each organization’s administrators continue to have authority over access levels within their own domains.
- Streamlining: They can utilize a single username to set a user’s rights and access levels across several systems in various security domains. This streamlines Identity and Access Management(IAM) and lessens their workload.
- Simplification: By creating a particular system that makes it simple to access the resources of an outside organisation, administrators can also steer clear of common problems that arise when balancing multi-domain access.
- Consolidation: The consolidation strategy used by FIM lets businesses keep control and save money.
- Removal: FIM removes the obstacles that frequently keep users from safely and easily obtaining the resources they require.
- Convenience and Productivity: It provides convenience by enabling users to safely access systems across various domains without having to memorize numerous login credentials or log in repeatedly. As a result, the user can boost productivity, reduce access friction, and save time.
- Compliance: FIM streamlines compliance, privacy, and data management.
- Reduction: Centralizing identity management, cutting down on data redundancy, and streamlining data synchronization all lower storage costs.
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Disadvantages of federated identity management
FIM does have certain disadvantages, though:
- The upfront expenses that businesses must pay to alter their current systems and apps are one disadvantage of FIM. Smaller organizations may find this to be a significant cost strain.
- The requirement that participating federation members develop policies that comply with each member’s security criteria presents another difficulty. Because every company has distinct criteria and rules, this discussion can be a difficult and time-consuming process.
- Lastly, since a participating organisation may belong to many federations, its policies ought to take into account the regulations and specifications of each federation. This can get complicated and involve a significant time commitment as the company joins more federations, for which many businesses may not be ready.
Examples of federated identity management
OpenID, OAuth, and Shibboleth, based on OASIS Security Assertion Markup Language, are FIM solutions.
FIM occurs when someone logs into a third-party website using Google, Facebook, or Apple credentials. Google’s FIM system lets users access Gmail, YouTube, Disney+, Spotify, Netflix, and other mobile apps and websites.
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What are common federated identity management use cases?
When managing applications that require access to resources across several security domains, FIM is helpful.
Common use cases for FIM include the following:
- Following a merger or acquisition, new users are added to a system.
- Outside distributors or vendors who need access to the company’s assets.
- Consumers of commercial identity companies.
- Users who have credentials from a government agency.
- Citizens with national identification provider credentials.
- Access to social media platforms like Facebook and Gmail.
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