🔑 SSO

Single Sign-On that’s Fast, Secure, and Auditable

Single Sign-On (SSO) lets people authenticate once and use that proof everywhere—SaaS, private apps, mobile, and APIs—without juggling passwords. SolveForce designs and operates SSO so it’s friction-light for users, least-privilege for security, and fully auditable for compliance. We use open standards (SAML 2.0, OIDC/OAuth 2.0) with adaptive MFA, device posture, and automated provisioning.

SSO lives inside an identity fabric:
🔑 IAM → IAM / SSO / MFA • 🔐 ZTNA → ZTNA • 🛡️ SASE → SASE
🖥️ Device trust → MDM / UEM • 🛡️ EDR/XDR → EDR / MDR / XDR
🧰 Privileged control → PAM • 🧪 Evidence → SIEM / SOAR

🎯 Outcomes (Why organizations deploy SSO)

  • One identity, everywhere — fewer prompts, fewer passwords, fewer resets.
  • Least-privilege access — ties identity to group/role and device posture with step-up MFA.
  • Faster onboarding/offboarding — SCIM/JIT provisioning; entitlements change with the role.
  • Provable compliance — complete trails (who/what/where/when/why) to SIEM/SOAR.
  • Better UX — sub-second token minting; passwordless with WebAuthn/FIDO2.

🧱 SSO Building Blocks (Spelled out)

  • IdP (Identity Provider) — your source of truth and policy engine (cloud IdP or hybrid).
  • SP (Service Provider) — the application relying on the IdP’s assertion/token.
  • SAML 2.0 — XML assertions for browser SSO; IdP-initiated or SP-initiated.
  • OIDC/OAuth 2.0 — modern JSON/JWT flows; Authorization Code + PKCE for web/mobile.
  • Tokens — ID Token (who), Access Token (what), Refresh Token (extend session).
  • SCIM — System for Cross-domain Identity Management (automated user/app provisioning).
  • MFA — TOTP, push, WebAuthn/FIDO2; adaptive by risk.
  • ABAC/RBAC — attribute-/role-based access control via groups/claims.

See the broader identity program → IAM / SSO / MFA

🔐 How SSO Works (Three common patterns)

1) SAML 2.0 (Browser SSO)

  • SP-initiated: User hits app → app redirects to IdP → IdP authenticates → returns signed SAML assertion to app → session.
  • IdP-initiated: User clicks app tile in IdP → receives assertion → session.
  • Controls: assertion signing/encryption, audience & recipient checks, clock-skew guard, cert rotation.

2) OIDC (OpenID Connect) on OAuth 2.0

  • Authorization Code + PKCE (recommended): App sends code + PKCE verifier → IdP returns code → app exchanges for ID/Access tokens (JWTs, via JWKS keys).
  • Controls: state/nonce anti-CSRF & replay, redirect-URI allowlists, short-lived tokens, rotating keys (JWKS).

3) Passwordless & Step-Up

  • WebAuthn/FIDO2 passkeys for phishing-resistant login.
  • Adaptive MFA on risk signals: new device, geo/ASN anomalies, sensitive app, stale posture.

🧭 Federation Patterns (SaaS, private apps, legacy)

  • SaaS federation — publish app catalog with SAML/OIDC; SCIM handles add/move/leave.
  • Private apps — reverse proxy/ZTNA connectors (outbound-only) publish internal apps without exposing networks. → ZTNA
  • Legacy bridge — Kerberos/NTLM, header-based SSO, SAML→header adapters, client-cert mTLS; migrate to OIDC where possible.

Security front door for Internet access & SaaS governance lives in SASE (SWG/CASB/FWaaS/ZTNA).

🧰 Provisioning & Entitlements (Automate everything)

  • SCIM to create/update/deactivate users & groups; app entitlements tied to role.
  • JIT (Just-In-Time) provisioning on first successful SSO (with guardrails).
  • ABAC: map attributes/claims (department, cost center, clearance) → app roles.
  • Service accounts: replace shared passwords with short-lived tokens/secrets in a vault.

🔒 Policy & Risk (Identity → Device → App → Data → Context)

A single sign-on does not mean single decision forever—use continuous checks:

  • Identity — group/role, assurance level; step-up MFA for admin actions.
  • Device — EDR/UEM posture (encryption, OS, health); non-compliant → quarantine. → MDM / UEM • EDR / MDR / XDR
  • Application — treat admin consoles & finance systems as high-risk.
  • Data — inline DLP rules for PII/PHI/PAN; watermark read-only sessions. → DLP
  • Context — geo/ASN, time, impossible travel, session age.

Outcome: allow → step-up → isolate (e.g., read-only/RBI) → deny.

🛡️ Security Controls (Concrete, verifiable)

  • OIDC/OAuth: PKCE, state/nonce, exact redirect-URI allowlists, short token TTLs, scope minimization.
  • SAML: signed (and where required encrypted) assertions, strict audience/recipient, fresh NotBefore/NotOnOrAfter windows.
  • Keys & trust: rotate signing keys via JWKS; store in HSM/KMS; pin cert chains. → Key Management / HSM
  • Session hygiene: absolute & idle timeouts, re-auth on privilege change; consistent logout across apps.
  • Threat signals: impossible travel, suspicious IP/ASN, token reuse → stream to SIEM/SOAR. → SIEM / SOAR

📐 SLO Guardrails (Experience you can measure)

MetricTarget (Regional)Notes
SSO login → token≤ 1–2 s typicalCache metadata; keep IdP close to users
MFA step-up≤ 3–5 s (push/WebAuthn)Prefer FIDO2 for speed & anti-phish
Provisioning (SCIM) propagate< 5 minQueue & retry; confirm app API quotas
De-provision token revoke< 60 sCritical for leavers/compromises
IdP availability≥ 99.99%Multi-region IdP; DR runbooks

We test with synthetics (login/MFA flows), monitor IdP health, and feed user-experience stats to RUM and SIEM/SOAR. → NOC Services

🧪 Migration Plan (From brittle logins to clean federation)

  1. Inventory apps by protocol (SAML/OIDC/LDAP/Kerberos), user stores, and risk tier.
  2. Choose IdP backbone (cloud or hybrid), directory sync strategy, multi-region footprint.
  3. Federate top apps with SAML/OIDC; enable SCIM; retire stored passwords.
  4. Roll out MFA adaptively; add WebAuthn passkeys for passwordless where possible.
  5. Publish private apps via ZTNA (outbound connectors); eliminate broad network-level VPN. → ZTNA
  6. Harden admin access with PAM, session recording, and hardware keys. → PAM
  7. Prove it — synthetics, log exports, SLO dashboards; de-commission legacy flows.

🧾 Evidence & Reporting

  • Authentication logs — who/what/where/agent, success/failure, MFA type.
  • Token metrics — issuance errors, refresh failures, clock-skew rejects.
  • Provisioning — SCIM job runs, delta counts, entitlements diffs.
  • Security events — anomaly detections, risk scores, geo/ASN blocks.

Everything streams to SIEM/SOAR with correlation to incidents and audits. → SIEM / SOAR

💵 Commercials (What affects cost)

  • User count & concurrency, feature bundles (passwordless, adaptive risk, analytics), log retention tiers.
  • Connector count (private apps/VPCs), HA pairs, multi-region needs.
  • Support SLAs and integration scope (SaaS catalog size, legacy bridges).

We model TCO vs. “many passwords + scattered MFA,” showing fewer resets, fewer prompts, and stronger defenses.

✅ Pre-Engagement Checklist

  • 👥 Users/groups, contractors/partners, BYOD stance.
  • 🔐 IdP choice, SSO/MFA factors, step-up rules.
  • 🧭 App inventory by protocol; SCIM readiness.
  • 🖥️ Device posture (EDR/UEM) and minimum-OS standards.
  • 🧰 PAM requirements for admin consoles; break-glass policy.
  • 📈 SLO targets (login/MFA times, de-provisioning), reporting cadence.

🔄 Where SSO Fits (Recursive View)

1) Grammar — identity traffic rides Connectivity
2) Syntax — SAML/OIDC flows in Cloud patterns
3) Semantics — truth of identity/device/data via Cybersecurity
4) Pragmatics — SolveForce AI predicts risk, reduces prompts, flags anomalies
5) Foundation — consistent terms enforced by Primacy of Language
6) Map — indexed across SolveForce Codex & Knowledge Hub

📞 Design SSO that Users (and Auditors) Love

Related pages:
IAM / SSO / MFA • ZTNA • SASE • PAM • MDM / UEM • EDR / MDR / XDR • DLP • PKI • Key Management / HSM • SIEM / SOAR • Knowledge Hub