How SAML 2.0 Authentication Works?

Show notes

https://goteleport.com/blog/how-saml-authentication-works/

At its core, Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) 2.0 is a means to exchange authorization and authentication information between services. SAML is frequently used to implement internal corporate single sign-on (SSO) solutions where the user logs into a service that acts as the single source of identity which then grants access to a subset of other internal services.

The advantage of adopting SAML/SSO from a security perspective are clear:

• Single source of identity. When an employee joins or leaves a company, you don’t have to worry about the myriad of internal services that now have to be updated, and the ones that will inevitably be missed.
• Enforce consistent authentication. SAML/SSO can be used to enforce consistent method of authentication across all internal corporate services, like multifactor authentication and session duration. This particular post will be focused on providing an overview of the how and why of SSO and SAML.