SAML Authentication

What is SAML Authentication?

SAML Authentication is a method of identity verification that leverages an identity provider to authenticate users centrally to a broad range of unaffiliated websites. By relaying the authentication process to a single trusted identity provider, organisations realise numerous security, administration and cost savings benefits and above all, relieve users of the need to maintain dozens of different usernames and passwords.

Created by the OASIS non-profit consortium, SAML, or the security assertion markup language, is an open-source XML standard or protocol for exchanging authentication and authorisation information between an identity provider, such as SafeNet Trusted Access, and a relying party or service provider, meaning a cloud or web app, such as such as Office 365, Salesforce, AWS, Zendesk, DropBox etc.

Token-based authentication, security token services, federated authentication and identity federation are all terms that describe the capabilities that a SAML identity provider offers.

How does SAML Authentication Work?

1. With SAML authentication, each time a user accesses an app, the authentication process is relayed to the SAML identity provider.
2. The user enters their credentials (e.g. password, OTP, contextual attributes), which are then verified by the identity provider.
3. The identity provider returns an access or reject response in the form of a SAML assertion. If authentication is successful, the user is granted access to the resource and if not, access is denied.

What is the User Experience with SAML Authentication?

1. A user accesses an app and is redirected to the identity provider for authentication.
2. They enter their credentials into the login portal.
3. Upon successful authentication, they are logged in to the resource.

Benefits of SAML Authentication in the enterprise

• A single user identity for all resources
• 20% lower help desk costs
• Reduced risk of a data breach
• Single pane management of apps and identities

Why SafeNet Trusted Access for SAML Authentication?

Each cloud and web application works with a different set of SAML attributes, which may include one or more various fields such as user ID, email address, group membership, postal address, alias and others. Therefore, to successfully integrate a central SAML identity provider with a cloud or web app, the identity provider must be able to provide these details in the SAML assertion.

SafeNet Trusted Access  makes it a breeze to apply single sign-on using SAML authentication, as it offers a catalogue of pre-integrated applications. Just add the cloud or web app that you already use today and start applying smart single sign-on with business-driven access policies.